Vita
by Anasatsia98
Summary: She was different. He couldn't find a single thread of darkness in her bones... in her soul. And he wanted her. (Book 1 of 8) (rated T-M)
1. Pilot

Tragedy knows no boundaries.

Neither does pain or suffering. They don't care who their victims are—money has no meaning to them and nothing can protect you from their vice of a grip. The sharp burning pain would slowly coil itself around you and pull you into a dark hole, a dark hole that Evelyn had yet to get out of. The purpose of pain and suffering, and why it had decided to strike her family, was something that Evelyn had yet to figure out.

The gentle caress of the car's AC was the only thing that was keeping Evelyn's mind off of her recent family events as she stared at the growing Los Angeles sign. She could hear the murmur of her parents talking, but she didn't care enough to remove her headphones. What could they have possibly been saying that could make her happy? _Nothing_. Only when Evelyn heard her name through the jumble of drums and guitar did she take off her headphones.

"You know, I'm really glad we named you two Violet and Evelyn instead of our second choices." Her dad said, causing Evelyn to raise her eyebrow. Why was Ben bringing her into this conversation? She knew that he had been upset with the fact that she hadn't been talking to him as much as before, but that was before they had to move.

That was before he had cheated.

"Which were?" Violet asked, staring in the rearview mirror, confusion crossing her face with a small amount of annoyance.

"Sunshine and Dawn." Her mom responded as she slid her sunglasses. Evelyn fake gagged and Violet let out a mocking laugh, her features dropping when Ben joined in.

"It's funny. Come on." Ben chuckled, "You gotta admit it's funny."

Evelyn watched as Ben smiled sweetly at Vivian before reaching over to grab her hand, Vivian pulling her hand away before she could encase hers and turning her head to look at the map. Evelyn was quick to look away from her parents and flinched when she felt a cold hand grasp her warm one. Looking to her left, a small smile appeared on Evelyn's face when she saw her sister giving her a soft, small one. Quickly squeezing her hand, Violet quickly let go and the continued staring out the window, no one making any move to start another conversation.

Evelyn loved having a twin. But as much as she loved it, she hated it. Her and Violet were not identical; no, they were the farthest part from identical in appearance and in personality. While Violet had long, light brown hair that looked like their mother's, Evelyn's hair was darker—almost black—that looked identical to her father's. Violet's eyes were a beautiful honey brown, where Evelyn's were a weird hazel mix that reminded her of gross moss. Their faces were different too, Violet had their father's oval face and Evelyn had their mother's rounded, square-ish face. But none the less, the two of them had a bond that wasn't easily broken. They were each other's pillars. Evelyn was there for Violet whenever Violet needed her, and Violet was there for Evelyn whenever Evelyn needed her.

"I love it." Ben said, the doorbell echoing throughout the building, "Don't you love it, hon? I mean, it looks even better than it did online."

"Yeah, it's, it's interesting." Vivian agreed, and Evelyn scoffed from where she sat next to Violet.

"Great." Violet scoffed, "So we're _The Addams Family_ now."

Evelyn bit back a laugh, "I hope they have a butler then."

"Hey! Crabby pants!" The two girls looked to their father, "Come here."

"What are you doing?" Vivian asked, holding her puppy close to her. The dog had basically come as Vivian's comfort blanket. Not that Evelyn minded, she had always wanted a dog but her parents had refused to get her one. They always said that she and Violet were enough trouble. She guessed that had changed.

"Isn't this place amazing?" Ben asked, excitement evident in his voice as he wrapped his arms around the two of them.

"It's definitely old," Evelyn stated, her posture tense and uncomfortable, and she nearly cried with relief as the door creaked open.

"Welcome." The relator agent greeted, and Evelyn snickered at how dysfunctional her family must have looked. Slowly stepping inside her new home, Evelyn couldn't help but shiver at a sudden cool breeze.

"It's a classic LA Victorian, built around 1920 by the doctor to the stars at the time." The woman ranted as they walked down the hall, "It's just fabulous. These are real _Tiffany_ fixtures. As you can see, the previous owners really loved this place like a child. They restored everything."

"Gay?" Vivian asked.

"What do you think?"

" _Tiffany_." Ben said, slowing down to bump the two of them with his shoulder, "Wow."

It wasn't hard to keep the smile off her face.

"Do you cook?" The woman asked.  
"Viv is a great cook." Ben stated as he took his hat off and looked around the kitchen, "I got her cooking lessons a few years ago, and she ended up teaching the teacher a few things."

Evelyn rolled her eyes, leave it to her dad to try and win her mom back while trying to show the realtor agent that everything was fine in their family. That they were just one big, happy family.

"Cooking lessons. Romantic." The woman said and Evelyn winced. Seeing her mom put Hallie down, Evelyn was quick to follow the dog. She wanted to get out of the room- no, she needed to get out of the room. It was becoming suffocating in there. Her dad trying to act like everything was perfect, her mom being a shell of her former self, and Violet being so quiet.

Following Hallie, Evelyn came to a sudden stop as Hallie stopped in front of a door, barking as if there was a person there. Evelyn stared at the dog, confused. There was nobody at the door; hell, she didn't even think they had any neighbors.

"Violet, honey, could you go see where Hallie went?" Evelyn heard her mom ask.

"Mom, it's fine. I'm with her right now." Evelyn called down the hall before turning her attention back to Hallie, "What on earth are you barking at?"

Taking a step closer to the door, Evelyn noticed that Hallie stopped barking and rolled her eyes. Reaching her hand out, she grabbed the doorknob and gave it a sharp turn, her brows furrowing in confusion when it didn't open. Grabbing with both hands, she gave the door a good shake, trying to loosen the lock before pulling the door back and walking down the stairs. Evelyn pulled her jacket tighter around her body as she reached the bottom and looked around the room. There wasn't much to look at and she quickly turned and headed back up, not liking the feeling she was getting.

By the time she arrived at school the next day, Evelyn could already feel the drama seeping through the air. Of course, her parents had to move them in the middle of the school year.

"I'll see you at lunch?" Evelyn offered, swinging her bag around her shoulder.

"Yeah." Violet nodded.

Giving her sister a firm nod, Evelyn quickly headed down the hall and to her first class: Organic Chemistry. To say that lunch came quickly was an understatement. Evelyn was worried that by the time she finally left the classroom she had wrinkles on her face and looked like she had aged ten years. It wasn't hard to find Violet, though. The sent of cigarette smoke led her straight to her older sister, and when she saw what was going on, her blood began to boil. A girl was grasping Violet by the back of the head and was forcing a cigarette sub to her face. Evelyn couldn't see what happened next, but Violet was suddenly racing towards her and the girl was shrieking.

"What the fuck was that?" Evelyn asked as Violet grabbed her wrist and yanked her towards the door, "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here." Violet seethed, and Evelyn looked back to see the girl glaring at her. With a shrug, Evelyn quickly flipped her off before blowing a kiss and giving a wink.

Nobody messed with her sister.

~8~

The blade she had managed to pull from the razor felt particularly cold today. The coolness of the blade contrasted against the warmth of her wrist, and Evelyn slowly pulled the blade down, pulling back to stare at the soft, milky skin that remained unmarred.

Some days, she didn't know how she managed to do it. The temptation of the warm, red liquid to spill over her pale skin, covering its perfection. Taking the razor, Evelyn playfully traced it across her arm, a childlike look in her eyes. Oh, the times she had been so tempted to end it all. Evelyn froze, the blade resting over a large, evident vein on her wrist. She shouldn't be doing this. Dancing with her dark thoughts weren't going to help her at all; nor was it going to help her sister or her mother. Evelyn knew that Violet struggled with depression and frequently self-harmed, and it made her sick to think about what she was doing.

"You're doing it wrong." A small shriek left Evelyn's lips as she spun around, barely noticing that in the sudden surprise she had managed to knick her skin. A tall, dirty blond haired boy leaned casually against the side of the doorframe. His dark brown eyes seemed to stare blankly at her, and only when she saw them flicker to her wrist—going wide with fascination- did she finally speak.

"Who the heck are you?"

"If you're trying to kill yourself, cut vertically." The boy continued as if she hadn't said anything, "They can't stitch that up."

"What if I'm not trying to kill myself?" Evelyn questioned, holding the razor tighter as her heart raced. His eyes flickered from her wrist to her face, an unbelieving look crossing it. Nervously, she yanked down her shirt sleeve. "That was an accident."

The boy laughed, "Isn't that we always say when we get caught."

"Who are you anyway?" Evelyn said, trying to change the subject, "And haven't you heard of knocking before opening the door."

The boy gave her a lazy smile as he reached and grabbed the doorknob, "If you're trying to kill yourself, you might also try locking the door."

Even with her pounding heart and racing mind, Evelyn had enough sense to throw the razor in the toilet and flush it. The boy's dark, tantalizing eyes seemed to be engrained in her mind and, as beautiful as they were, they seemed to hold so much darkness. Evelyn quickly washed her hands and raced out of the bathroom, nearly tripping as she tried to race up the stairs.

"Vi!" Evelyn slammed her sister's door shut and rested her back against it, panting as her sister stared at her with wide eyes.

"What the fuck is wrong, Eve?" Violet leapt from her bed and rushed over to her shaking younger sister, pulling her into a hug.

Slowly, Evelyn began to calm down and he mind became clear. Breathing in deeply, she pulled herself out of her sister's grasp and opened the door, "Sorry. I thought I saw something in the basement. Must've just been the meds or something."

Violet watched with confusion as Evelyn slammed the door shut, her brows furrowed. Evelyn hadn't had a panic attack in a few years now, and she'd stopped taking her meds last October. Biting down on her lip, Violet let out a frustrated groan before digging around in her purse and grabbing a cigarette.

~8~

The sound of her bedroom door opening caught Evelyn's attention and she groaned from where she laid on her bed, staring boredly at her computer screen.

"Seriously, Vi, I'm fine." Evelyn recited as she lazily clicked at the screen, "I was just spooked."

"I'm not Vi." A deep, yet oddly comforting and soft voice spoke, "Um, I'm Tate."

Evelyn's head shot up and she stared in horror at the teenage boy in front of her, memories of yesterday flooding her mind. Suddenly, she felt like she couldn't breathe—as if a thousand hands were holding her head underwater, and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't get to the top.

"How'd you find my room." Evelyn managed to gasp out. Tate shrugged, making his way further into the room and sitting on the floor next to her bed, staring up at her, "And I never said that you could come in."

"I saw you run into your room yesterday." Was all Tate said before he began to fiddle with the hem of his sleeve.

Evelyn pursed her lips, the feeling of being held down was slowly starting to fade away but she could still feel her heart pounding in her chest, "So, are you one of my dad's patients?"

"Yeah." Tate nodded, not bothering to look up at her. Slowly, she slunk down to the floor, sitting a foot away from him.

"What's up with you then?" She asked, nervously tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She didn't mean to pry, but she couldn't help but want to know what his story was. Tate looked at her with such an innocent look that Evelyn almost forgot he was around her age.

The darkness that suddenly flooded his eyes made Evelyn subconsciously shrink back with fear. She knew that she shouldn't have asked that. Immediately, she started to belittle herself, asking why she was so stupid and why she couldn't just keep her mouth shut. The air between them grew thick and cold for a moment before he yanked down his sleeve and pointed to thin scar lines on his wrist, lines she was all too familiar with.

"This one I did after my dad left. I was ten, I think." Tate stated like a little kid during show-and-tell week. Evelyn's mouth dropped. How could a person have such a quick personality change? Looking up to meet his eyes, Evelyn was taken aback on the look he was giving her. He was waiting for her to share one her scars; mental or physical, she didn't know. Going with the safer route, she gently pulled down her sleeve.

"This asshole scared me while I was in the bathroom and I accidentally cut myself," Evelyn explained as she pointed to a small, light red cut on her wrist that was right over a large vein. If she had only pressed a little harder… Tate's eyes darkened at the thought.

"So, why are you here?" He asked, suddenly getting up and walking towards her desk, flipping through pages of the books that laid scattered across it.

"My mom caught my dad cheating on her," Evelyn explained, smiling softly at the 'ouch' face Tate had, "And to make it worse, she had a miscarriage about six months before. The baby was about seven months and it was pretty bad because you don't normally have miscarriages past month three unless it's something that you do-" The look Tate was giving her made her voice die in the back of her throat.

"Sorry," Evelyn cleared her throat, "I was taking biology around the same time it happened."

"Nah, it's cool." Tate said, grabbing a marker and heading over towards her whiteboard, "I dig smart chicks."

Evelyn's cheeks immediately flushed and she turned away, praying that her hair was covering her tomato face. Blindly looking around her room, she grabbed at CD case at the end of her bed and looked at the artist, a smile crossing her face.

"Wanna listen to Stevie Nicks?" Evelyn held out the disk and Tate sat on the floor in front of her.

"You have any Kurt Cobain?" Tate asked and Evelyn shook her head.

"Nah, Vi does though. I can go ask-"

"What are you doing in here?" Evelyn froze as Ben's rough voice cut through the room.

"Dad," Evelyn froze, looking between the two males in the room and feeling the building tension, "I was just about to go and get some music from Violet's room."

"You have to leave, Tate." Ben said, brushing over his daughter's words, "I'm sorry. You shouldn't be in here. I think you know that. Please." Ben motioned towards the door.

Evelyn watched as Tate stood up, a frown crossing her lips, and walked towards the door. For a moment, she felt empty. It was almost as though Tate had filled this empty hole in her and now that he was leaving, it had come back and was sucking all the happiness out of her. Evelyn mentally scoffed at the thought. She was being ridiculous. She barely knew the guy. Evelyn barely had a second to react before her father was storming towards her, anger covering his features.

"Stay away from him!" He demanded, and Evelyn recoiled at the anger and disgust that was seeping through his voice.

"Dad, I…"

"You heard me!" Ben's sharp voice cut her off and she looked at up him with hurt in her eyes.

~8~

It only took Evelyn one moment to register that her sister was being held down by a bunch of girls before she went flying towards them. Evelyn's blood was boiling as she slapping one of the girls in the face and managed to kick another one off her. She didn't know what the hell these girls' problems were with her sister, but she knew that she wasn't going to let it continue any longer.

"Get the fuck off her!" Evelyn shrieked before throwing a punch and nailing one of the last two girls who was holding her sister to the ground.

"You bitch!" The girl who she managed to hit wailed, tackling Evelyn to the floor as a sharp crack echoed around the room.

"Eve," Violet gasped as she saw her little sister groaning and holding her head in her hands. Glaring at Leah, Violet reached for the cigarette before grabbing it at pressing the tip into Leah's hand before getting up and grabbing Evelyn from off the ground. Supporting most of her sister's weight, Violet pulled her into an empty classroom and locked the door, quickly turning her attention to a groaning Evelyn.

"Hey, Evie." Violet grabbed her sister's face, "Are you okay?"

"My head really hurts." Evelyn said, her eyes burning as they filled with tears, "Am I going to die?"

Violet choked down a laugh. Leave it to Evelyn to think one small thing happens to her and she's going to die.

"No, you're not going to die." Violet plainly said, dropping her hands and walking over to the door, checking to make sure no one was outside. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she motioned for Evelyn to come over, "Come on, we're leaving this shithole."

~8~

"Be quiet," Violet whispered and Evelyn nodded. The pounding in her head had eased since the fight a few hours ago. Violet had decided that she wanted to eat a good lunch for once and the two had been lazing about in the restaurant until they knew school had ended. Now the hard part was sneaking back into the house without their mom noticing. They didn't have to worry about Ben though, he rarely ever noticed anything. Violet kept her hat on and her hair forward to cover the scratch on her forehead while all Evelyn had to do was try to walk straight and not into a door.

"Hey." Vivian greeted as the two entered the house.

"Hey," Violet replied, quickly turning her head and closing the door while Evelyn gave a smile and a nod. Quickly the two made their way towards the stairs.

"Whoa." Vivian said and the two girls stopped in their tracks, "Come here. What happened to your face?"

"Fell down." Violet stated, her eyes drifting to the left.

"And you?" Vivian asked, looking towards her youngest and noting the distant gaze in her eyes.

"Bumped my head on a table." Evelyn explained and Vivian sighed.

"Come here. Sit, sit, sit." Vivian rushed over to the grab a wet cloth as Violet helped Evelyn sit at the island. Even though her headache was getting better, her sense of balance and perception was still a little off.

"Boy or girls."

"Girls." Violet admitted, "Three of them."

"Hope they look worse than you do." Vivian said, and Violet gave a soft smile as Evelyn grimaced as a wave of pain hit her, "Do you know their names?"  
"I'm not narcing."

"Le-" Violet said, quickly cutting Evelyn off and shooting her a glare. To which the twin lazily shrugged.

"You know, we can easily move you to a different school." Vivian stated as she sat down in front of Violet, "There are a lot of really good private schools right in this neighborhood."

"I'm not running away. I'm not scared of them." Violet announced and Evelyn rolled her eyes. Leave it up to Violet to be all heroic, a trait she got from Ben.

"Not afraid of anything. It's like that time in kindergarten when you insisted that I bring you home from the slumber party cause all the other girls were sleeping with the light on." Vivian said as she gently dabbed under Violet's nose.

Quietly, Evelyn slipped away from the conversation and made her way upstairs. Her head was killing her. It was aching and pounding and she could feel the blood rushing. Crashing on her bed, she didn't see the shadow in the corner of the room… nor did she see the dark eyes that followed her.

 _I hate her! I just want to kill her._

… _do it..._

 _did you see what she did to Evelyn?_

 _yeah…cold bitch…._

 _leave you alone? Stop making… life… hell?_

 _Scare her._

… _how?_


	2. Home Invasion

"Evelyn, Evelyn wake up!" Evelyn groaned as a sharp jab to the side of her body radiated with pain. Rubbing her eyes, she looked up to see the frantic face of her sister and whatever she anger was in her left.

"Vi?" Evelyn shuffled so she was sitting upright, "What's wrong?"

Violet was panting, her eyes continuously looking around—it was almost as if she were waiting for someone to jump out and grab her. "Did you meet one of dad's patients? A guy named Tate?"

Evelyn tilted her head to the side before nodding, "Yeah. It's sorta hard not to meet him… It's like he basically lives here at this point."

"Eve, stay away from him." Violet demanded, and Evelyn looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. Violet's face was still flushed, but she seemed to have calm down a little. Her eyes, though, were still searching the room.

"What? Why?"

"Look, we did this prank on Leah, alright." Violet said, pushing back a strand of hair, "It was just to scare her and to get her to back off, and Tate came up with the idea and everything. So, I get her to come into the house and into the basement, and Tate starts flickering the lights and laughing… and, and all of a sudden, this _thing_ pops out and scratches Leah's face."

"Vi... are you sure that you weren't just seeing things?" Evelyn tried to reason. Like Violet had said, the lights were flickering and they can play tricks on someone's eyes. Especially when they're scared.

"No, Eve." Violet roughly ran her fingers through her hair before pacing back and forth "I saw Leah today. Her hair, it's turning fucking white from fear!"

"Okay, well, what did this 'thing' look like?" Evelyn questioned, trying to figure out exactly what her sister wanted her to do.

"I don't know." Violet sighed, "It was… it was so weird. It's mouth had these teeth-"

"Everyone has teeth." Evelyn interrupted, laughing when Violet flipped her off.

"No, it was these sharp, little-"

"I get it, Vi," Evelyn interrupted once again, not liking how talking about this seemed to bring her sister to the verge of tears, "I'll… I'll stay away from Tate."

~8~

"Did you know that I hate the quadratic formula." Evelyn said as rested on her sister's bed. Ever since Violet had 'forbade' her from seeing Tate, the two of them had spent more time together. But it wasn't like they had anyone else to spend it with.

"Yeah."

Violet's music was soothing as Evelyn tried to finish her homework. It was a 'girls weekend' as her mom had put it since Ben had to go back to Boston to see a patient. Evelyn mentally scoffed, she doubted that that was the reason her was there. Unlike her mom, she had little trust in reasoning of why he had to go back. Not only that, but apparently her and Vi were expecting a new sibling. It wasn't like she hadn't already had an inkling of an idea.

" _If you're here to tell me that you're pregnant, I already know." Evelyn said, barely looking up from her computer._

" _How?" Vivian asked as she set down the cupcake she brought up. Evelyn quickly glanced at it before scrunching her nose up. Chocolate, her least favorite type of candy._

" _I heard you tell dad that you wanted Indian food. Something you generally hate, but you told Vi and I that it was something you craved all the time when you were pregnant." Evelyn clicked on the link in the email, "Besides, you stopped drinking wine at dinner, something you haven't been able to do since… well, you know."_

 _Vivian let out a breathy laugh before leaning against the door. She often forgot that her daughters weren't little kids who didn't know much about the world._

"Violet! Evelyn!" The sound of her mother's panicked voice brought Evelyn out of her daydream and she followed her sister to the stairs before stopping at on the landing.

"How am I supposed to finish my homework if you keep interrupting?" Violet sassed. Evelyn knew that Violet wouldn't be happy about their mom's pregnancy. She also knew that Violet wanted their mom to divorce their dad and to move far away from him, preferably back to Boston. However, when Violet saw the look on her mother's face, her attitude faltered, "What's the matter?"

"Where's your phone?" Vivian asked, looking at her eldest before looking at her youngest, "And yours."

"In my bag upstairs."

"In my room." Violet and Evelyn answered, both unsure of their mother's unusual behavior

"Go get it." Vivian stuttered and Evelyn's eyes widened. Her mom rarely ever stuttered unless she was extremely scared, mad, or upset. "And dial 911."

The doorbell rang and Vivian's eyes grew wide with terror for a moment. Evelyn and Violet shared a look before Violet spoke, "Who's that."

"Just go to one of your rooms and stay together. Lock the door. Don't come out until I tell you. Now!" Vivian instructed and the two girls gave her a quick nod before racing up the stairs.

The parted at the top, Violet heading to hers and Evelyn to her own. Upon reaching her room, Evelyn slammed the door shut and locked it, before running to her desk and searching for her phone. She could have sworn she had left it there, or had she moved taken it with her when she went to Violet's room? The panic was building up inside of her and for a moment she felt like the she was going to throw up. In her haste to find her phone, she didn't notice her door unlock and open.

~8~

The three masked figures stared down at them, their gaze never changing. As much as Evelyn wanted to struggle, she couldn't. There they were: her mom, sister, and her tied to chairs facing their 'captors'. Evelyn wanted to throw up.

"I have money." Vivian pleaded, "Please, just take anything."

"We're not here to rob you." One of them said and Evelyn looked at her confused, "Masks off." Evelyn watched as the three people took off their masks, one of them she swore she had saw earlier today. "The transcript was very clear. The nurses saw R. Franklin. He had nothing to hide."

"Who?" Evelyn whispered. She didn't understand what these people were talking about and the name they had said didn't ring a bell in her mind.

"Twelve minutes. Then the fun begins." The blonde one said, and Evelyn stifled a wince at the crazed look she had in her eyes.

"I have a surprise for you guys." The red-head said, her voice almost as dazed as she looked. Unwrapping a white cloth, she pulled out a small blue, glass bowl while holding a hunting knife.

"No way," The guy laughed.

"I got it on eBay. Authenticated. It's the one he used to bash Maria." The girl continued as she carefully caressed the bowl like it was the most precious thing on the earth.

"Let me see it." The guy grabbed the bowl and marveled at it while Evelyn nervously looked at her mom, "Holy shit. You can feel the energy in this is real bitchin."

"Who goes first." The blonde one asked and Evelyn looked at her confused, "Which one's Gladys?"

Evelyn pursed her lips. If she were about to die, she'd need a better name than Gladys… no offense to her. The red-head waved the knife from side to side before landing it one Violet. The blonde tossed her a bundle of white clothes. Immediately, Violet threw it back.

"Screw you, psycho. I'm not putting this on."

"You have to." The blonde said, and Evelyn noticed that her voice wavered as if she were shocked someone didn't want to comply to them, "Everything has to be perfect."

Suddenly, the man reached forward and ripped back Violet's hoodie, causing Evelyn to scream and Violet to shrink back as he raised the bowl.

"Hey!" Evelyn heard her mother roar, "Put it on me."

"Oh, you'll all be wearing uniforms." The girl explained, "R. Franklin hated nurses. He had a bad experience with the mercury in a broken thermometer. That's why he took Gladys," She pointed to Violet, "Upstairs and drowned her in the tub."

Just as the girl was about to continue, Evelyn noticed that she hesitated, her eyes flickering from her to her mother for a moment before a relaxed smile crossed her face.

"And you, Maria…" Evelyn's breath caught in her throat as the red-head took a step forward so that she was standing in front of her, "He saved you for last."

"R. Franklin was the first, before Manson. He changed the culture. We're paying tribute to him."

"But you have three of us," Evelyn quickly interjected, "And he only had two victims. You'll be doing it wrong if you kill us wrong."

The red-head rolled her eyes, "We thought about that before we realized how proud he would be. Not only would we be recreating his masterpiece, but we would be adding our own in too. To prove how much, he inspired and how much we worship him."

"We're not going to be part of your reenactment." Vivian blankly stated, slightly shaking her shoulders.

"Put this on." The red-head ignored Vivian and dropped the bundle to Violet, "You won't like it if I have to make you."

Violet grabbed the clothes and stood up, staring at the woman. Without second thought, she pushed the woman to the floor and ran out of them room while Vivian tripped the man when he tried chasing after her. Evelyn gasped in horror as the blonde shoved her mom to the floor.

 _No, not again._

Kicking her legs out, Evelyn nailed the man in the shin, nearly laughing when he fell over.

"You bitch," He seethed before his hand swung out and a cracking sound echoed around the room. The pain was quick and Evelyn didn't let out a sound, although her eyes did water. A familiar rusty taste filled her mouth and Evelyn quickly spat it out.

"I don't remember this being part of his murders." Evelyn teased. She wanted to punch herself. What was she saying? She didn't know anything about the guy or his murders. She nearly cried when a look of dread crossed the man's face. In a second, it was gone as he was holding knife to her throat.

"Do something like that again and I'll slit your throat." The man whispered, a dark smile on his face as he lazily traced the knife across the smooth skin, "We do have an extra."

Evelyn shuddered but not just because she had a knife to her throat. No, it was because the moment the man said that, it suddenly felt as if someone turned the heat off and an unspeakable anger radiated throughout the house. Either R. Franklin wasn't amused or these guys had some serious auras.

Closing her eyes, she refused to respond as the man brushed her hair away from her neck and draped a necklace across it. It was a pretty cross, Evelyn had to admit, and maybe if she wasn't about to be killed she would've kept it.

"I hate these latches," The guy whispered in her ear and Evelyn tiled her head farther away, "Too small for my fingers."

"I can do it." Evelyn said, and the guy roughly pulled her hair back.

"I got it." He grabbed the knife and it easily sliced through the cloth holding her. Throwing her the clothes, he smiled, "Dress up time. Get up and don't try anything."

"Can you please turn around?"

"No."

Evelyn tried to ignore the fact that her mom was in the room, "Okay."

"Wait," The man stopped her and glanced at her mother, "Let's go to a different room."

Shuffling a slight two steps back, Evelyn turned around and lazily pulled off her hoody, trying to go as slowly as she could. Thankful that she had actually worn a bra and tank top underneath it, she slipped the dress on. After knowing that she was fully covered, she peeled her tank top off and was just about to drop them when she turned and threw them at his face. Grabbing the bowl from the floor.

Evelyn let out a cry of pain as he tackled her to the ground, holding the knife above him. She squirmed, almost crying at the fact that his knee was resting on the arm she held the bowl.

"I don't care if this isn't the right room." The man hissed, nicking Evelyn's arm and causing her to cry out in pain, "Or that your mother can't watch you die."

With a loud scream, Eve yanked her arm out from under the man—ignoring the click it made and the flare of pain that followed—and slammed the bowl against the man's head. He fell, surprised, and Evelyn used that advantage to straddle him and repeatedly smash the bowl on his head. The man groaned, blood was starting to fly up with every hit, and there was a small crunch, but Evelyn didn't stop. She couldn't see anything, her eyes were burning with unshed tears and her heart was racing. She was _going_ to throw up. She didn't stop until his eyes closed and his head slumped to the side.

She didn't give herself time to have a break, instead she ran over to her mother, untied her and the two of them ran throughout the house, searching for Violet but careful not to be too loud. As soon as they found her, they were running out the door.


	3. Murder House

The breeze felt nice as it ruffled Evelyn's dark brown locks and playfully tugged on them. She didn't understand how the world could be so beautiful sometimes. Tate sat next to her on the wall that surrounded her house, staring out and commenting every-so-often about the birds that dipped through the trees.

"Eve," Tate vanished and Evelyn closed her book at the sound of her father's voice, "Can we talk."

"Sure," She responded and she turned her body to face him, making sure not to have any expression on her face, "What's up."

Ben laughed as he took a step closer, "That's my question for you. How are you doing? After everything that happened, I know that it can be stressful. Especially with you're an-"

"My anxiety's fine, dad." Evelyn cut him off, not wanting him to go into detail about her anxiety in front of Tate. It wasn't that she was embarrassed for him to know about it, it was just that she didn't like to talk about it. Talking about it makes people bring up questions and the questions sometimes hurt more than help.

"Okay, okay." Ben said before taking a deep breath, "All I wanted to say is, I know that what happened can cause you're, you know, to act up again. Look, if you ever want to talk to anyone about it, we can find you, someone. And if you ever want to start taking your meds again, it's okay too."

Evelyn couldn't help but smile at her dad's words. For a moment, it felt like he cared again and that he was trying to fix what he did. But then Evelyn thought back to everything that had happened and couldn't help but wonder if he was only doing this because he wanted their mom to forgive him. With a new baby, he could start over. He wouldn't have to worry about whether or not Violet or Evelyn cared about him because that new baby would. That new baby wouldn't know anything about what had happened, and probably never would.

"Yeah," Evelyn muttered, the smile falling off her face as she turned her body away from him, "Thanks, dad."

She didn't bother to turn back around when she heard Ben sigh or when she heard his footsteps fading away. Instead, she smiled as Tate's face peeked out from behind the bushes and patted the empty spot next to her.

"He cares a lot." Tate said as he glanced at her, a smile crossing his face when he noticed the amount of adoration she held in her eyes as she looked at him, "You should be happy. You're lucky."

"Yeah," Evelyn nodded, looking behind her to where her father once stood, "I know."

~8~

As much as she wanted to listen to what Violet had said, she couldn't help but feel an air of oddness surrounding her when Tate's name was mentioned. No longer did her sister warn her not to hang around him or even be near him. No, it was if something had occurred between the two of them that had made her… forgive him in a sense.

 _But why?_ Evelyn couldn't help but ponder as she laid on her bed and stared at the book in her hands, her mind everywhere but on her schoolwork. _Why had her opinion changed so quickly?_ It wasn't as if months had passed, it had only been a few weeks and Violet wasn't one to forgive easily.

There was only one reasonable explanation but she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to believe that it could be an option. If Violet liked Tate… liked him more than a friend or acquaintance, then there was no bout that she would forgive him. The thought made Evelyn's heartache and her hope that he might like her deflate.

Why wouldn't he like Violet? She was strong, smart, amazing, sensible (sometimes, that is), plus the two had a similar aura around them. There was a shared darkness between the two, but unlike Violet's aura of wanting to touch the darkness, Tate's was almost as if he was the darkness.

Evelyn was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost missed the creaking under her bed. Cautiously placing her book to her side, she leaned over and slowly reached her hand down to lift up the hem.

A shriek tore through her throat as a hand reached up and grasped hers before a body pulled itself from underneath.

"Trick or treat!" Addy exclaimed and Evelyn heaved out a heavy sigh, rolling on her back as she placed her hand over her heart, "Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!"

"Addy!" Evelyn scolded, knowing that the girl had a bad habit of sneaking into their home but never guessing that she'd know where her room was, or go in it, "I almost died!"

"I want to be a pretty girl for Halloween," Addy said and Evelyn felt her heart drop. What did she mean she wanted to be a pretty girl?

"But you already are a pretty girl, Addy," Evelyn said, a confused look crossed her face and she swung her legs off the bed before standing up and making her way towards the girl.

"No." Addy took a step closer, "Make me a pretty girl. Like you, Evelyn."

Evelyn only managed to nod before she led Addy to her desk, pulling out a mirror and all her makeup supplies. She still didn't fully understand why Addy didn't think she was pretty, but with a mother like Constance, she had an idea.

"I really don't know what I'm doing." Evelyn stated, gently brushing some light blue eyeshadow on Addy's eyelids, "I mean, I've tried to watch makeup tutorials and all, but I still can't get it down."

"I don't care." Addy rushed before taking a look at herself in the mirror, "I like it."

Evelyn cracked a small smile as she grabbed her eyeliner pencil, "Close your eyes."

"Is Tate your boyfriend?" The abruptness of the question almost made Evelyn jerk the pencil and ruin the cat eye she was trying to create. Taking a quick, deep breath, she focused back on making the line straight.

"No, we're just friends."

"But he likes you." Addy said and Evelyn let the true meaning of the words fall deaf to her ears.

"Friends normally like each other." She said, brushing some blush on Addy's cheeks.

"No," Addy groaned, "He like _likes_ you. I can tell. He thinks you're a pretty girl."

Evelyn felt her face flush and she quickly brought her hands to her cheeks, trying to cover the blush for a moment.

"Are you a virgin?" Addy asked, and Evelyn gave her a weird look.

"Yeah. Why?" She pulled out a tube of lip gloss, "Are you?"

"Hell no." Addy sassed.

"You can't keep sneaking into our house, Addy." Evelyn tried to calmly mention, as she took off Addy's headband, "I don't want you to get in trouble."

"But I like it here. My friends are here." Addy whined before turning to look in the mirror, her jaw-dropping, "Wow! Evelyn, I'm beautiful."

Evelyn hated the basement.

She hated the smell, she hated the look, she hated the feel, she hated the doors, she hated the staircase, she _hated_ the basement. Every time she went down there, she felt like she was going to die. There was this suffocating aura of darkness and… this type of _evilness_ , in a sense.

But the moment Tate had asked her to meet him in the basement, she dropped what she was doing and headed down the stairs. There was no question in her mind, no moment of hesitation when he asked her to meet him down there. For a moment, Evelyn felt fearless as she walked down those ancient stairs and stood in the middle of the stone room. That was until she couldn't feel Tate, and she didn't mean in a physical sense… she could literally not feel a sign of life down there.

"Tate," Evelyn called, her hand gripping the banister as she turned, "It's midnight. You said you wanted to meet." When silence met her, Evelyn felt her heart begin to slowly race, "Tate… you know I don't like the basement."

Everything was starting to come into focus now. The smell of dust and mold filled her nostrils as she realized exactly where she was and what time it was. Now, midnight was not the witching hour, but it was when the activity started to pick up in haunted locations.

"Tate." Evelyn dragged as she turned back towards the staircase, only for a shriek to leave her lips as she stared at a man in a latex suit in front of her. She prayed that it wasn't her dad or else this would be an awkward encounter. The man lunged forward, pushing Evelyn towards the wall, as his hand covered her mouth. Muffled shrieks and screams echoed around the room as Evelyn tried to fight him off, but quickly realized that he was way too strong.

The familiar burning of tears made Evelyn blink them back rapidly before a light chuckle was heard coming from the masked man. Immediately, she stopped fighting back as a blank look crossed her face.

"Are you serious," Evelyn stated, crossing her arms over her chest as she tapped her foot. Her chest heaved as her heart tried to calm itself and she rolled her eyes as Tate took off the mask, smiling.

"I scared you." He teased.

"Of course you fucking did," Evelyn said, "You know how much I hate the basement."

"You know I'd protect you from anything down here," Tate replied before leaning in and pressing his lips softly against hers. Evelyn froze for a moment, never having kissed a boy before, but when she felt how gentle Tate was being, she allowed herself to kiss back. His lips were warm and, oddly, comforting. Yes, they were chapped but Evelyn didn't seem to care at all.

Evelyn pulled away for a moment and stared at Tate, noticing how his eyes were hooded with lust and how his breathing seemed even, even though they had been kissing for a while. Cautiously, she lifted her hand before running it through his hair and stopping at the back of his head. Without a second thought, she pulled Tate's lips back onto hers, kissing him more passionately than before.

He fought for dominance, but so did she.

"Tate," Evelyn said, pulling back and resting her forehead against his. He hummed in response and Evelyn continued, "When will we go on a real date?"

She immediately felt his body tense up before relaxing, the movement quick enough to go unnoticed, but she felt it.

"All right," Tate said, reaching down and grasping her hands, lacing their fingers together, "Tomorrow night. We'll go out."

* * *

 **Hi Everyone!**

 **I just wanted to say thank you so much for reading this story and reviewing, favoriting, or following!  
**

 **I'm going to be commenting every three chapters of the story, so if you have an questions or ideas, please DM me or comment and I will get back to you asap.** **  
**

 **I picture Evelyn played by Hailee Steinfeld from the movie _The Edge of Seventeen_.**

 **Please review if you'd like! I'd really appreciate that but it's okay if you don't.**

 **Ana**


	4. Halloween Pt1

Evelyn hated the basement.

She hated the smell, she hated the look, she hated the feel, she hated the doors, she hated the staircase, she _hated_ the basement. Every time she went down there, she felt like she was going to die. There was this suffocating aura of darkness and… this type of _evilness_ , in a sense.

But the moment Tate had asked her to meet him in the basement, she dropped what she was doing and headed down the stairs. There was no question in her mind, no moment of hesitation when he asked her to meet him down there. For a moment, Evelyn felt fearless as she walked down those ancient stairs and stood in the middle of the stone room. That was until she couldn't feel Tate, and she didn't mean in a physical sense… she could literally not feel a sign of life down there.

"Tate," Evelyn called, her hand gripping the banister as she turned, "It's midnight. You said you wanted to meet." When silence met her, Evelyn felt her heart begin to slowly race, "Tate… you know I don't like the basement."

Everything was starting to come into focus now. The smell of dust and mold filled her nostrils as she realized exactly where she was and what time it was. Now, midnight was not the witching hour, but it was when the activity started to pick up in haunted locations.

"Tate." Evelyn dragged as she turned back towards the staircase, only for a shriek to leave her lips as she stared at a man in a latex suit in front of her. She prayed that it wasn't her dad or else this would be an awkward encounter. The man lunged forward, pushing Evelyn towards the wall, as his hand covered her mouth. Muffled shrieks and screams echoed around the room as Evelyn tried to fight him off but quickly realized that he was way too strong.

The familiar burning of tears made Evelyn blink them back rapidly before a light chuckle was heard coming from the masked man. Immediately, she stopped fighting back as a blank look crossed her face.

"Are you serious," Evelyn stated, crossing her arms over her chest as she tapped her foot. Her chest heaved as her heart tried to calm itself and she rolled her eyes as Tate took off the mask, smiling.

"I scared you." He teased.

"Of course you fucking did," Evelyn said, "You know how much I hate the basement."

"You know I'd protect you from anything down here," Tate replied before leaning in and pressing his lips softly against hers. Evelyn froze for a moment, never having kissed a boy before, but when she felt how gentle Tate was being, she allowed herself to kiss back. His lips were warm and, oddly, comforting. Yes, they were chapped but Evelyn didn't seem to care at all.

Evelyn pulled away for a moment and stared at Tate, noticing how his eyes were hooded with lust and how his breathing seemed even, even though they had been kissing for a while. Cautiously, she lifted her hand before running it through his hair and stopping at the back of his head. Without a second thought, she pulled Tate's lips back onto hers, kissing him more passionately than before.

He fought for dominance, but so did she.

"Tate," Evelyn said, pulling back and resting her forehead against his. He hummed in response and Evelyn continued, "When will we go on a real date?"

She immediately felt his body tense up before relaxing, the movement quick enough to go unnoticed, but she felt it.

"All right," Tate said, reaching down and grasping her hands, lacing their fingers together, "Tomorrow night. We'll go out."

~8~

There were moments in Evelyn's life when she wondered how a new sibling would affect the family's dynamic. If it were a boy, would it become their dad's pride and joy? Would their mother worship the ground her son walked on? And if it were a girl, how were she and Violet going to connect with the new child? Would they get along or find her annoying because of their seventeen-year age gap?

Her thoughts normally occurred at moments like this. Laying in bed next to Violet and listening to Fleetwood Mac. Violet was busy reading a manga while Evelyn causally scrolled through songs on Violet's iPod. Truth be told, Evelyn didn't really want another sibling. She felt as though the only reason this one was being born was to save her parents marriage, and that was not a good enough reason for a child to be born. Basically, her sibling was going to be born out of wedlock.

It was about the fifth, consistent time the doorbell had rang that Evelyn looked at Violet with confusion and worry. Normally, the kids would've given up by now and left, but the fact this one was sticking around for so long was causing her anxiety to stir.

Cautiously, the two girls got out of Violet's bed and made their way down the hall and to the staircase. The sound of angry yells met Evelyn's ears and she subconsciously grabbed onto the back of Violet's shirt, stopping her from going down the stairs.

"Goddamit, Ben! I want my money!" The man yelled as he rang the doorbell before pounding on the door. Evelyn's heart was racing and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears.

"Vi, go upstairs and grab your phone. Call dad." Evelyn commanded and Violet nodded, not bothering to argue with her sister and racing back up the stairs and to her room. Evelyn slowly continued down the stairs, stopping in front of the door and staring at it curiously.

"I am not leaving here until I have my thousand dollars!" The man screamed and Evelyn crept forward before looking out the eyehole. "Hello? Ben Harmon!" The man rang the doorbell before pounding on the door, "Ben Harmon, I am not leaving here till I have my thousand dollars. Screw you! You owe me!"

Looking away from the door, Evelyn looked up to meet Violet's eyes and Violet motioned to the phone, silently signaling that she was already talking to her dad. The sudden sound of children screaming met Evelyn's ears and she immediately looked out the hole to make sure the kids were okay.

"Dad, there's some freaky dude screaming outside the door about money." Violet said into the phone, "I think he might be one of your patients. I don't know. Should I call the cops? Yeah."

"He's coming," Violet whispered to Evelyn, slowly pulling her away from the door.

The man chuckled, "I know you're in there."

Evelyn's heart dropped as a wave of cold rushed through her body.

"Is that your daughter?"

* * *

 **This was my first time writing a kiss scene so sorry if it sucked.**


	5. Halloween Pt2

The shrill screams of children filled the air and Evelyn launched herself at the door, almost opening it before realizing that there was a crazed man outside. Peering through the stained glass, she made sure that each kid was okay and got away safely. Her hand subconsciously tightened around a vase she had from a nearby table as if she were ready to fight the man if she had to.

"Okay," Evelyn heard Violet say. Turning around to look at her sister, Evelyn noticed Violet's wide eyes and realized, for a split second, that her sister was scared for the first time in _years_. "Dad said that they'll be home soon and to go upstairs and into our room."

Evelyn didn't waste a second before launching herself towards the stairs and following Violet, before heading into her room and slamming the door. The vase that she once held laid shattered on the floor; neither teens noticing that it had fallen. Biting harshly at her nails, Evelyn paced the across her room, flinching at every small bang, knock, or slam. She could feel the walls near her starting to get closer and, suddenly, it was hard to breathe. Rapidly looking around her room, her mind raced with thousands of thoughts—a majority of which were were-case-scenarios.

A light tap from her window caused her heart to almost jump out of her chest, and Evelyn raced over before stopping against the wall next to the window. Cautiously, she peered out and down to her backyard, her heart stopping when she saw Tate's smiling face. Evelyn slowly opened her window and looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

He only grinned in response before motioning downward and mouthing, "Basement."

Evelyn nodded at him and quietly closed her window, hoping that she didn't attract the crazy man's attention. Tip-toeing past Violet's room—which was loudly playing music that helped Evelyn relax—Evelyn elegantly and gracefully made her way down the stairs and to the basement, dropping to the ground when there a loud slam on the door. She wasn't sure if the coast was clear, and didn't want to risk it, so she army crawled her way to the basements steps before getting up and slowly making her way down.

Fuck, she hated the basement.

"Tate?" Evelyn called, her voice raspy from being silent for so long, as she looked around the basement, wanting to get out of there as quickly as she could.

Not a second later, a soft smile covered Evelyn's face as Tate emerged. Her smile dropped for a moment as she noticed one of his hands was behind his back but she didn't bother to comment.

"Hey," Tate smiled and Evelyn rushed over to him before bringing him into a tight hug, scared that if she were to let go he'd vanish.

"Today's been such a weird day," She murmured into his cardigan, allowing the feeling of him to calm her down, "The cops came and Dad won't tell me why, Mom had to go to the hospital because she felt the baby 'kick', and this crazy person is banging on our door, screaming for money and my Dad."

"Hey, hey," Tate soothed, pulling away when he felt her heart rate spike and looking in her eyes, trying to calm her down and let her know that everything was going to be okay, "Shit like that does tend to go down on Halloween."

"I don't like it," Evelyn pouted and Tate smirked.

"Probably just asshole kids. It's fine now. I'm here." Smiling bashfully, Tate pulled out a white flower from behind him. Evelyn's mouth dropped as she lightly pulled it from her fingers, admiring the slight droopiness of the petals and the light crème color that was starting to creep up around the mouth of the flower. "I knew you'd like it."

"It's…" Evelyn twirled the flower around before looking up at Tate, her eyes practically shining with happiness, "It's resplendent. How'd you know…"

Tate shook his head with a little chuckle and held out his hand, "Are you ready to go on our date?"

"I've never been more ready," Evelyn said, grasping his hand and practically beaming up at him.

~8~

"Evelyn, where are you?" Evelyn winced at the sharpness of her mother's voice and her mind immediately faltered.

"I'm hanging out with my friend." Evelyn said, resting her head on her hand and staring out into the black abyss, admiring how the stars and the moon reflected like diamonds in the darkness, "I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner."

Vivian sighed into the phone and Evelyn could practically feel her roll her eyes at the inner debate she was having, "Are you safe?"

"Yes."

"Are you having fun?"

"Yeah?"

"We came home and there wasn't anybody at the door," Vivian said and Evelyn felt her heart drop. Her hands lightly shook as she pressed the phone closer to her ear.

"I think they were kids." Evelyn coughed, trying to get her voice to stop trembling, "Playing a prank, right? I mean, it is Halloween."

"Uh-huh," Vivian sighed again, "I want you home in an hour."

"Deal." Evelyn giggled into the phone as Tate bounded towards her and started to playfully kiss her neck and her face.

"Who was that?" Tate asked as Evelyn slid her phone into her back pocket.

"Oh, my mom."

Tate smiled at her, taking the time to memorize every mark and scar on her face. The way her nose dipped and how her hair didn't fight against the wind, but embraced it and danced with it. Not a second later, his lips were on hers, both curved into a smile.

~8~

Pulling away from Tate was one of the hardest things Evelyn had to do, but she did want to spend actual time with him… time that didn't just include making out. Shifting back, she ignored the flash of hurt in Tate's eyes before sliding forward and resting her head against his chest.

"Tell me about yourself," Evelyn muttered, snuggling even closer against Tate even though the bonfire was already making her sweat. There was just something about him that made her feel safe… and protected.

"Where do you want me to start?" Tate asked, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before resting his on top of hers.

"I don't know." Evelyn said, "How was school? What do you wanna do with your life? Do you have any dreams?"

"I… hated high school." Tate began, his voice growing distant as he looked out into the ocean, "So, I'd come here and I'd look out at this vast, limitless expanse. And it's like, that's your life, man. You can do anything. You can _be_ anything. Screw high school." Evelyn looked up at him, "That's… just a blip in your lifetime. Don't get stuck there."

Evelyn wrapped her arms around Tate's waist and pulled him closer to her. She could practically feel his sadness and how lost he was. She wasn't planning on moving for a while when a sharp movement caught her attention.

"Tate," Evelyn whispered as she craned her neck to try and get a better view, "I think someone's here."

There were about five of them and they were all _covered_ in blood. At first, Evelyn had to hand it to them, their makeup was so grotesque and realistic that for a moment she thought they were ghosts of victims of a school shooting. Evelyn quickly pushed that thought away, there was no way ghosts could leave the area they haunted. It was basically what all the TV shows said.

"Your costumes are amazing," Evelyn smiled warmly at them as they circled around her and Tate. She didn't notice, however, how Tate's grip on her tightened and how he pulled her closer to him.

"You know, there's a whole lot of beach, guys," Tate said, looking at each and every one of them.

"Good job, Tate. You finally came out of hiding." The football player said, ignoring both of them and causing Evelyn to frown. He tilted his head down and Evelyn held in a gasp at the sight of a bullet wound going straight through his forehead. In a moment, she felt like the entire aura around them changed from calmness to anger, sadness, hurt, and pain. "We've been waiting for years for you to show your face. But you like Mommy's little safe house, don't you?"

Evelyn's head whipped to look at Tate, but he refused to look at her; instead, he stared at the group surrounding them. Evelyn's brows furrowed, something wasn't making sense… and she felt as though it were something Tate wasn't telling her.

"I don't know you," Tate said.

"You know, I'm actually surprised you have the balls to show your face around here." The cheerleader said, dried blood staining the bullet wound on her chest, right next to the heart.

"Yeah." Evelyn flinched as the Goth girl leaned close, allowing Evelyn to get a full view of the side of her head that seemed to have been blown off, "Maybe you should have worn a mask."

"I'm not really into Halloween." Tate shrugged, not looking bothered by anything that was going on and Evelyn faltered at that… he was being too relaxed.

"But this year's different, right?" The girl winked at Evelyn and she gripped Tate's hand tighter, "You have a date! How cute is that?"

"Leave her alone," Tate stated, placing both hands on the girl's shoulder and lightly pushing her back before the two of them stood up.

"We don't want her," The footballer said, "We want you."

"How about we drown him?" The Goth girl said before the boy in the leather jacket next to her shook his head.

"No, we should shoot him right between the eyes." The footballer player said referencing to his wound.

Evelyn slowly got up and looked around at the group, "What's going on?"

"Aw, look at this cute, innocent flower," The Goth girl teased, "She doesn't know anything, does she?"

"Yeah," Leather jacket guy snarled, "Why does he get someone like her? I don't have a girlfriend. Do you have a girlfriend? Kyle, you?"

"Nope," Footballer—Kyle—said, popping the 'p', "I haven't had sex in a long time."

Evelyn stared at the two of them with her mouth slightly agape. Only when Tate roughly shook her arm did she bother to move.

"Come on, let's go." Tate grumbled, "This beach sucks. Someone should pick up the trash."

Evelyn let Tate drag her away, but she couldn't help but look behind her. Something about the five of them… she just felt so bad. Like, somehow, there was so much pain that resided with them.

~8~

Evelyn quickly threw her hair up into a bun before locking the door to her room and turning to face Tate, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him with confusion written across her face as she tried to read Tate's expression.

"Who were those people?" Evelyn asked, her mind flashing to the five teens that had harassed them—well, more like Tate—at the beach.

"I don't know them," Tate responded, his face remaining passive and Evelyn raised her eyebrows. This scenario was all too familiar to her. Her dad would get a phone call, or her mom would answer the phone, and when her mom asked her dad who it was, he would say that he didn't know them, or that it was work. But work turned out to be Hayden… and Hayden led to her family falling apart.

"Then why do they hate you?" Evelyn pushed, "How would they even know your name—all five of them—if you don't know them? Isn't that a little odd, Tate?"

Tate faltered for a moment before a look of anger crossed his face and he backed up, "They're just high school assholes. I mean, the world's full of 'em. It's popular kids who get off on being mean and cruel. I… I thought you understood that."

"I do understand that," Evelyn said, anger flashing across her eyes as Tate tried to turn this on her, "But popular kids don't normally want to kill someone unless something _bad_ or _embarrassing_ happened to them."

Evelyn let out a deep sigh as Tate refused to meet her gaze, and was just about to open her mouth when Hallie began incessantly barking. It was only then did true emotion flicker across Tate's face—fear. Rushing towards the window, the two peaked out through the blinds and Evelyn felt her heart drop. The five teenagers from the beach were walking across her lawn and towards her front door. How did they even know where she lived? She was almost positive that they hadn't followed them back from the beach.

"I'm going to figure out what's going on." Evelyn grabbed a pair of scissors from her desk before walking down the stairs and opening the front door. The five of them were just standing there, like it was no big deal, just… waiting.

"Oh, great." Kyle scoffed, "He sent his little girlfriend out."

"With a pair of scissors. You gonna make us some paper dolls?" The Goth teen teased and Evelyn took a shaky breath, her hand tightening around the scissors. Whatever confidence she once had left her and now she hated herself for being a shaking mess in front of them.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to," Evelyn shyly retorted, "I was more of an origami girl." Clearing her throat, she moved forward, "This is private property. So, you have two options: a) you tell me what the fuck is going on, or b) I'll call the cops."

"Go ahead," The cheerleader stated, "Call them. You'll probably need them."

"Screw that. She deserves whatever happens to her," Kyle lazed, and Evelyn's temper flared, quickly she pointed her scissors towards him.

"I defended your guys' sorry asses." Evelyn shouted, "And I want to know what the fuck is going on, right now."

The goth chic scoffed at Evelyn's little outburst and ran her finger down her face as though it were a fake tear, "Yeah, she's like those lonely fat chicks that marry guys on death row. You're deeply, deeply disturbed."

"Says the girl who has brains coming out the side of her head," Evelyn snapped before turning and looking at each person, "Go home."

"Home?" The cheerleader said, jumping down from where she was sitting and stalking towards Evelyn, who took a step back, "Where is that? I'm an only child. After what happened, my parents split up, sold the house, moved away. No forwarding address. So, I don't have a home."

"I'm sorry," Evelyn's façade dropped and her eyes filled with sorrow and remorse, "I don't know what to say to make it better, but I can't fix that for you. I… I can't even fix my family."

"Can you fix this?" Carl retorted, pointing to the hole in his head, "Can you give me back my scholarship to Georgia Tech? I'm supposed to be starting quarterback freshman year."

"She doesn't care," The cheerleader—Chloe, Evelyn heard the guy next to her whisper—stated, "She's in love, and she'll do anything for him, including giving him her virginity."

"That's where you're wrong," Evelyn snapped at the smirking cheerlead, "I don't believe in love and I will _never_ believe in love. And as for my virginity," She looked Chloe over, "I don't hand mine out as freely as you do."

"You stupid slut," Kyle snarled, lunging forward, causing Evelyn to hold up the scissors protectively, and circling her like a vulture, "She's worse than he is. She thinks it's okay what he did to us."

"What did he do to you?" Evelyn exclaimed, her eyes wide and the look of exhaustion could clearly be seen. She was sick of this game. It kept running in circles and she didn't know when it would end.

"She doesn't know." Chloe's whispered as she walked towards Evelyn.

"I told you I don't know!" Evelyn cried, "What don't I know? What am I missing?"

A mumbling sounded from behind her and when she turned to look, she almost threw up. One of the boys was trying to talk but the problem was, he didn't have a jaw. Evelyn took a shaky breath as a pool of blood fell from his mouth and dribbled onto the front porch. Her mouth went dry and she took a step back, ready to run when the guy covered his mouth in, Evelyn tilted her head, in shame.

"It's okay," Chloe said, rubbing the guys back as he walked past her to stand behind her and Kyle.

"How have you not heard about Westfield High?" Kyle asked, suspicion lacing his voice and Evelyn faced him.

"My family just moved here... It hasn't even been five months."

"Pick up a yearbook, bitch." The Goth chic snapped.

"Or read a newspaper," Chloe said, her voice stern and Evelyn thought it sounded as if she almost were about to cry.

"We're kind of famous." Kyle boasted, but Evelyn heard the darkness in his tone.

"Why don't you guys just tell me who you are, because, well, you're here." Evelyn awkwardly said, immediately regretting that decision when they all looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"Let's just put her out of her misery," The Goth chic said, lunging forward and Evelyn held her arms up to protect her face when a familiar voice rang out.

"Leave her alone!"

"Finally. The prodigal son returns." Leather jacket guy chuckled as Tate walked out from the house. Evelyn looked at him for a moment, hurt filling her. Where had he been all this time when she was dealing with them? This wasn't _her_ problem, this was his. "Come on down, man. We've got some questions."

"Go inside," Tate commanded, pulling Evelyn so that she was protected behind his body, "I can handle this."

"I seriously doubt that," Chloe scoffed.

"Go inside!" Tate shouted, pushing Evelyn further back and she immediately shook her head, pulling herself out of his grip but staying behind him.

"No, I want to know what's going on."

"Karma's a bitch, Tate." The Goth chic snarled and Tate shifted his weight, placing his left foot slightly behind him.

"You want to talk to me?" Tate asked, giving a slight bounce, "Than let's see how fast you can run."

Evelyn barely had time to react before he was racing past her with the group of teens following him. For a moment, she hesitated. She didn't know if she should follow him or if she should call someone. Pulling her phone out of her back pocket, Evelyn went to dial the police when she felt hands wrap around her shoulders and pull her. Whipping around, she stared at the crazed eyes of Constance and her face dropped.

"Come to my house now," Constance growled and Evelyn tried to shake her hands off her.

"Get off of me." Evelyn snarled. She was not in the mood for her weird-ass neighbor to put her hands on her and tell her what to do. No, she wasn't in a good mood at all. Evelyn's head _hurt_. She didn't understand anything that was going. What were those kids talking about? Why did they want to hurt Tate? What was Westfield High? What wasn't Tate telling her?

"Addie is dead because of you." Constance half-sob before pushing Evelyn towards her home as Evelyn's face dropped and her phone fell to the ground, breaking.

~8~

Evelyn cautiously sat at the kitchen table in Constance Langdon's house, her gaze not moving from the grieving woman. Slowly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Evelyn swallowed and fidgeted with her fingers before biting at her thumbnail.

"She wanted to be a pretty girl," Constance said, and Evelyn winced at how high-pitched and shaky her voice was, "Of course, she didn't look so pretty. Lying on that table under those harsh, energy-efficient lights. One of the many comforts of having children is knowing one's youth has not fled but merely been passed down to a new generation. They say when a" Constance's voice gave a sharp crack, "Parent dies, a child feels his own mortality. But when a child dies, it's immortality that a parent loses."

"Constance," Evelyn whispered, her heart heavy, "I'm… I'm so sorry."

Constance gave an uneasy smile as she reached for the teapot, "Well, you did encourage her. That's true. But you were just trying to be kind, weren't you?"

Evelyn went to open her mouth to answer but quickly shut it when she realized that whatever she might say could set Constance off.

"I was the one who sent her out into the world tonight," Constance hummed, pouring herself a cup after she filled Evelyn's, "And it did what it will do. Go ahead, drink your… drink your tea, honey."

"Thank you," Evelyn said before she took a small sip of the tea, her body relaxing as the taste of chamomile flooded her taste buds.

"You know; Adelaide was a willful child. I suppose that she inherited anything from me, it was that." Constance dumped a spoonful of sugar into her tea, "In truth, I think my little monster was more like than any of my other children."

Evelyn's brows furrowed at that information, "I didn't know you had other children."

Evelyn watched carefully as Constance nervously fluffed her hair before resting her head on hand and looking idly at the cigarette in her hand, "Tate is my son."

"What?" Evelyn's mouth dropped as the question came out as a mere whisper. Constance continued to talk, not noticing the glazed look that suddenly covered Evelyn's eyes as her mind wandered far off. Tate… Tate hadn't told her this, and Evelyn wandered if Tate had told her anything important, really. She considered the two of them to be dating, but now that she thought of it, she didn't really _know_ Tate. Yes, she knew his likes and dislikes, his favorite food, his favorite color, all the basic things; but, Evelyn didn't know Tate's life. Where'd he go to school? Who his _mom_ was _?_ His family? Did he have any friends?

"He cannot know about this, Evelyn." Constance slowly shook her head, "He cannot know that his sister has passed. Not now. He doesn't react well to certain things. So you… you have to promise me." Evelyn jerked back as Constance reached forward and grabbed her arm, snapping out of her thoughts, "Promise me."

"Why can't I tell him." Evelyn prodded, looking into Constance's eyes and seeing if she was lying to her. If whatever Constance had been saying about Tate wasn't true. She didn't want it to be true.

"Well, he's a sensitive boy. You've seen that. He's a young man with too-deep feelings." Constance sniffled, "The soul of a poet, but none of the grit or steel that acts as a bulwark against this… these horrors of this world. The steel that has protected me, that Adelaide possessed."

Evelyn didn't bother to react when Constance got up and walked towards a picture frame on the counter, taking it down and staring longingly at it.

"That you have, too." Evelyn looked at Constance, "I, uh…I think…that's why he's taken so with you. He craves your strength." When Evelyn opened her mouth to retort, Constance held up her finger, "You may not always show that strength on the outside like your sister, but you have it built up inside of you, yearning to be released. And when it is, you're unstoppable."

"Look," Constance dryly laughed as she walked towards Evelyn and handed her the picture frame, "Maybe he misses his sister. But we must protect him, Evelyn."


	6. Piggy Piggy

Evelyn refused to see Tate the next day.

Instead, she locked herself in her room and immediately searched for what the teens had told her, Westfield High. However, what she found made her feel sick. Staring back at her were the five faces she saw last night, each having the bullet wound where it was said they were shot. There was no doubt in her mind that she had seen their ghost because she knew that kids weren't as cruel to joke about something like that. With a shaky breath, Evelyn clicked the linked tab to the page of their murder and all the air left her lungs.

She knew those eyes.

Slamming her computer shut, Evelyn raced down the stairs as she frantically called for her mom and her sister. She didn't want to be alone, she wanted to feel safe. But the thought and the memories of her kissing a _murder_ kept crawling back into her mind, and she feared for a moment that she was actually going to throw up as the back of her throat gagged and her eyes burned. Storming into the kitchen, the one place she had yet to check, her heart dropped as she saw the Constance sitting at the island.

"Where's my mom? Where's Violet?" Evelyn demanded, but Constance didn't seem to care. In fact, she only took a drag of her cigarette.

"Not here," She blew the smoke from her lungs and Evelyn crinkled her nose at the smell.

"Where are they? Did you hurt them?" Evelyn said as she stalked forward and Constance scoffed.

"Of course not. They're probably at the grocery store. Your sister's probably trying to buy some cigarettes while your mom's buying some frozen fare to reheat for your supper tonight." Constance stated and Evelyn looked away, her eyes filling with tears and she blinked rapidly to try to keep them at bay, "You found out about Tate, didn't you? I knew you would."

Evelyn stormed into the kitchen and stared Constance in the eyes, "Get out of my house!"

"I questioned my sanity when I first found out." Constance smirked, "But this house… This house will make you a believer. You see, Evelyn, we were living _here_ when Tate lost his way. And I believe that the house drove him to it."

"I want to say that I don't believe you," Evelyn began, her eyes moving back and forth as she thought about her experience with the house, "But I do. It makes sense. Why the house feels so weird, why strange people seem to pop up and get in out of nowhere, why they vanish as soon as they come, but…but why?"

"I wish I knew, dear." Constance sighed before stubbing out her cigarette and getting up, "I want you to meet someone."

Evelyn didn't hesitate to follow Constance out of the house. Sure, she didn't particularly like Constance, but Tate couldn't leave the house and she would do anything to get away from him. Opening the door, Constance led Evelyn to her kitchen where a young woman sat with beautiful ombre hair.

"Evelyn Harmon, meet Billie Dean Howard." Constance introduced, and Evelyn stared at the woman in front of her. Shakily, she held out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you?" She greeted, not sure if it was exactly nice to meet this woman or why she was meeting this woman.

"She's a gifted Medium." Constance explained as she poured a cup of tea, "She can help."

"You're confused. Overwhelmed." Billie Dean said, and Evelyn noted how soothing and hypnotic her voice was, "Why wouldn't you be?"

"I just found out that my 'boyfriend' shot up a school and is a ghost, and that's how you start this?" Evelyn snapped, her emotions controlling her for a moment before she realized what she said and lowered her eyes in shame and embarrassment, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Billie Dean soothed, before motioning for Evelyn to sit as Constance placed down three cups of tea.

"Billie has been helping me for years," Constance admitted, and Evelyn hated how calm and unbothered she was about this. Her son shot up a fucking school and murdered people. Evelyn carefully slid into the chair as Constance continued to talk, "I first found her on Craigslist. I've been through all the phonies, but she is one-hundred percent authentic."

"I've just come from a meeting at _Lifetime_." Billie Dean boasted as she brushed back her hair and Evelyn couldn't help but immediately hate her, "They're interested in making a pilot with me.

"What is this, the new _Long Island Medium_?" Evelyn whispered under her breath, ignoring the glare Billie Dean shot her way.

"Unlike them, sweetheart, I know what I'm doing and I do it right." Billie Dean shot back before staring at Evelyn's face with a curious expression, "I can't read your future dear. That's a different gift. But… there's something about you that just doesn't quite make sense."

"Have some chamomile tea," Constance said, sliding her cup forward, "It'll calm nerves."

"I am calm," Evelyn said, offended.

"Your hands tell a different story, dear." Constance tsked and Evelyn looked down to see that her hands were a shaking mess. Quickly, she pulled them into her lap.

"You were chosen," Billie Dean said, taking a drag from her cigarette, "And now you must help Tate crossover."

"But what if I don't want to? This isn't my problem."

"Who's Gwen?" Billie Dean suddenly asked, and Evelyn swore that her heart stopped, "And where did she go?"

An ugly sob wrenched itself from Evelyn's throat and she raced out of the house, not seeing the knowing look on Billie Dean's face as she calmly took another drag of her cigarette.

~8~

There were twelve people's names on the plaque inside the library and Evelyn wasn't sure how long she spent standing in front of it, just reading the names and then rereading them. It was an endless, hypnotic process for her and she couldn't feel as though she could tear her eyes away.

Twelve people. He had murdered twelve people and it didn't even mention how many he had injured both mentally and physically. Somehow, she managed to drag herself away from the plaque, making sure not to disturb the flowers she had left beneath them. Evelyn calmly paced the isles as she looked for the spots where they had been murdered, jumping when a man's voice came from behind her.

"They were over by the couches," The librarian said with a nod of his head, "Used to be a row of tables. I get four or five of you sickos a year. Usually freshman." The man glanced at the flowers she left before tilting his head, "But none have ever shown as much remorse as you. You a transfer?"

"I'm sorry," Evelyn said, her eyes burning again and she already knew that she was going to cry, "I'm sorry this happened and I'm sorry you're stuck with those memories forever. I moved next to his mom's house. Did… did you know him before this?"

"I knew his face. Didn't seem like a bad kid, actually." The librarian said, "He was in here a lot. Kind of thoughtful. Liked to read. Byron, books on birds, random stuff."

"Oh, okay." Evelyn went to ask another question, but she saw a flash of anger and annoyance in the man's eyes and stopped herself. "Thank you and I'm sorry for bringing back those memories. I'll, uh, I'll go now."

Spinning on her heel, Evelyn rushed out of the library and the man sighed before driving over to the plaque and picking up the flowers. Turning around, he made his way back to his desk and put them in an empty vase he kept there. A vase that hadn't been filled since 1994.

~8~

The door slammed shut as Evelyn strolled into the house. Everything about her persona may have seemed calm, but when you looked into her eyes, you could see a fire burning brighter than any other. Her house was quiet, that was the first thing that Evelyn noticed. There was not a single creak and when the door slammed, it was almost as though the echo seemed to hang around longer in the dry air.

"Tate?" Evelyn called, feeling as though she felt a shift in the air and she shuddered at an unknown breeze that passed through the empty hall, "Tate?"

Seeing a flicker of a yellow and blue shirt, Evelyn spun around and chased after it. Her heart was beginning to pound and she felt her breathing get faster, but she continued to follow the colors. Stopping suddenly, she stared at the basement door and felt the blood drain from her face. She didn't want to go down there. Tate knew that she _hated_ the basement, and if he wanted to protect her, why would he go down there?

She was fighting herself. On one had, she loathed Tate and the thought of him. He killed twelves people for no reason… there was _no_ reason. Everyone she had asked and the articles she had looked up never stated why he did it. He just did it because he wanted to. But on the other hand, Evelyn still deeply cared about Tate and it's hard to just let go and forget those feelings. Tate was a genuinely disturbed kid, but what made him that way. What wasn't he telling her?

Suddenly, a shrill scream echoed throughout the house and Evelyn raced down the stairs without a second thought. She knew that scream, she had heard it before but never with such fear.

"Violet!" Evelyn screamed, stumbling down the last few steps and hitting the floor on her hands and knees, wincing as a crack echoed around the room and pain radiated from her kneecap. Shaking it off, she got up and ran towards the sound where she thought she heard the scream come from, "Vi!"

Skidding to a stop in front of the back washroom, Evelyn's mouth dropped in horror as she stared at the couple who had their throats slashed and a nurse who was dripping wet with blood spotting her dress.

"But I'm hurt and needing some help." The woman said, and Evelyn gagged at the blood dripping down her throat as Violet stared at her in a horrified daze.

"Violet, come on! We gotta get out of here!" Evelyn shouted, yanking her sister by the wrist and jolting her out of her daze. Violet lurched forward, accidentally knocking Evelyn to the ground before she raced up the stairs. Evelyn scrambled to get up and was following her not a second later. A shrill cry escaped her lips as a man dressed in doctor's gear stood by the stairs clutching a pitched tong.

"Violet!" Evelyn cried as she spun around on the first floor, looking for her older sister. Sniffling, Evelyn calmed herself down long enough for the blood rushing in her ears to quiet down long enough for her to hear music blasting from upstairs.

Rushing towards the staircase and up the stairs, she made her way towards Violet's room when it suddenly dawned on her that the music was coming from her room and that it was her favorite song that was playing. Slowly, she crept towards her door and opened it. Evelyn warily entered her room and turned the music off before turning around, a gasp leaving her lips.

Scrawled on her whiteboard was written 'I LOVE YOU'. Covering her mouth, Evelyn slowly back away from the board, sliding down against the wall and sitting on the floor.

"No," She muttered, roughly running her fingers through her hair, "No, no, no, no, no."

She stayed there, rocking back and forth, muttering 'no' over and over again as her eyes never left the whiteboard. Only when she heard the clang of metal did she jolt out of her shock and shoot up to her feet.

"Violet," She whispered to herself before throwing open her door and running to her sister's room. Opening the door, she let out a sob at the sight of her older sister laying curled up on the bed with an empty bottle of pills next to her.

"No," Evelyn gasped, rushing over before a scream ripped through her throat, "No!"

Grasping her sister by the armpits, Evelyn heaved her sister's limp body off the bed before dragging it to the bathroom. Each second felt like an eternity to her and she cursed herself with every stumble and stagger she had. She _couldn't_ lose her sister. Not like this. Not when everything was going to be okay in the end, Evelyn knew it was going to be okay in the end! Violet couldn't leave her. They were twins, they had each other's back when no one else did. Violet _wouldn't_ leave her alone with her parents. Where everything was falling apart and she had to struggle to put their family back together.

Violet was always there for her. Always watching out for her when she got too carried away or forgot to take care of herself. And when they were younger, Violet was always there when she was scared that there was a monster in their closet or under the bed. She was always protecting her from the monsters, so why couldn't Evelyn protect Violet from Violet's monsters?

"Wake up, Violet! Wake up!"

Evelyn was a blubbering mess by the time she made it into the bathroom and she caught herself as she tripped on the bathroom rug. Coughing after each sob, Evelyn propped Violet against the side of the bathtub before turning on the shower and not caring about the cold water run over her head. Putting one foot out of the tub and keeping the other foot in, Evelyn reached over and grasped Violet's armpits, trying to heave her body into the tub.

It wouldn't have been as hard as it was if she had been able to see and wasn't a weeping mess. Groaning, Evelyn gave one hard yank and a gasp escaped her lips as her sneaker slipped against the marble tub and she let go of Violet; Violet's body slumping to the floor as Evelyn's was flung back, her head smashing against the shower handle and a resonating crack rang throughout the bathroom.

Evelyn's eyes fluttered shut.

~8~

Tate felt his world fall apart the moment he saw Evelyn laying in the bathtub with light red surrounding her in an almost angelic way. Her head was tilted to the side with her dark brown hair spilling around her, drifting past her shoulders and sticking to parts of the dry tub. Her skin was paler than he'd ever seen and her mouth was fully submerged under the water. Pushing Violet's body out of the way and ignoring the soft thud that came from her head hitting the wooden floor, Tate crawled into the tub and pulled Evelyn's head into his lap. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know what.

He was past crying at this point, he was bawling. He didn't want this to happen, this wasn't part of his plan. All he wanted to do was frighten Evelyn to the point where she called him. He wanted her to need him as badly as _he_ needed her. But then Violet had to go and muddle everything up by coming home before Evelyn and falling into the trap instead of her.

Tate needed a new plan, a plan for them to both comeback or else Evelyn would never forgive him. He knew that she already resented because of the school shooting and his eyes darkened at the thought of the five teenagers that tormented them, a part of him glad that he had killed them when he had a chance. They were the ones that ruined everything, not him.

Choking back a sob, Tate smoothed back the hair from Evelyn's face and placed a kiss on her forehead before getting up and gently placing her in the tub so that she was facing upward. Stepping out of the tub, he stood crouched in front of Violet's body and pulled it up into a sitting position. Pushing his fingers in her mouth, he choked back another sob as she suddenly lurched forward and started to violently throw up.

He didn't waste a second to get back into the tub as soon as Violet had vomited. Pulling Evelyn's head back into his lap and trying to ignore the fact that the water had gotten darker, he angled her head on one of his knees and opened her mouth before pressing his against her, exhaling harshly.

"Evelyn," Tate cried as he pulled his head back and she didn't wake up, "Open your eyes. Evelyn, open your eyes!"

He was screaming at this point and he didn't care that Violet was sobbing next to the tub at the sight of her unmoving sister. Violet reached out a hand to touch Evelyn when Tate violently slapped it, causing her to flinch and draw it back, and pulled Evelyn's body closer to his. To Violet, he seemed to be creating a shield between him and the world around him but to Tate, he was protecting the one person he truly loved.

"Come on," Tate's voice cracked from how raw it had become as he searched her still face for any sign of life, "Evelyn, wake up!"

Pressing his lips harshly against her and pushing air into her lungs, he shot back when she lurched forward, gagging on the water that had filled her lung before throwing it up, the water becoming a disturbing rust color. The moment Evelyn had her breathing under control, a high pitched wail left her lips and Tate pulled her to his chest, hugging her and kissing her head. She didn't struggle against him and he didn't know if it was because she was exhausted or if she had forgiven him. They stayed like that for a few minutes: Tate crying and clutching Evelyn to his chest, and Evelyn let out sobs and choking on left over water that was in her lungs before coughing it up and out.

Only when Evelyn saw Violet's form curled up against the wall did she move to get out of the tub, Tate's grip tightening around her waist as she tried to climb out of the tub before releasing and allowing her to weakly crawled over to her sister. Lifting a shaky arm, Evelyn wrapped it securely around Violet's shoulder and pulled her sister close, ignoring the putrid smell of vomit that seemed to cling to her. The second Violet felt her sister's embrace, the teen broke down and Evelyn only pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry," Violet cried, incessantly, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Evelyn whispered, "Everything's okay. We're going to be okay."

* * *

 **What? Two chapter in one day and a chapter published yesterday? I must be going crazy!**

 **haha, i'm just kidding, but i do need to pick up the pace, so you can expect one, two, or three! chapters out tomorrow.**

 **But, like, Michael Langdon in apocalypse. Ugh, what a babe.**

 **Guest: Thank you so much and i'm glad you like the oc! I tried my best not to make her resemble Violet's personality that much because... well, you'll see in later stories ;)**

 **simslovr1: Thank you! And i will definitely try to add more Tate/ Evelyn interaction.**

 **belladu57: Thank you!**

 **When the Larks fly: Thank you so much! I was so unsure but i'm glad it wasn't horrible haha**

 **Guest (AFAN): Thank you! And I'm so glad you like it!  
**

 **Winchestergirl123: Thank you! and I'ms glad youlike Evelyn!**

 **Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, followed, or favorited this story!**

 **Please don't be afraid to review or PM me if you have any questions.**

 **See ya tomorrow,**

 **ANA**


	7. Open House

Evelyn lazily turned the pages of the book she had checked out of the school library as she laid on Violet's bed. The two girls had been inseparable since the 'incident' and neither wanted to be too far apart from each other for they feared that something might happen again. Violet was curled up on the bed, a few inches away from Evelyn's foot, fast asleep. Flipping the page, Evelyn glanced at the bird on the page before she turned the page. She didn't care that much about the book if she were being honest. Instead, she found the pictures to be soothing. They reminded her of a book her Mom once got her and Violet when they were younger that she would read to them. It was a story about a beautiful bird that lost its way when her family was migrating. She was scared and alone, but in the end, she found her family.

"I like birds, too." Tate's voice rang through the silent room and Evelyn checked on Violet before looking up at him. She kept her facial expression neutral and tilted her head to the side, looking at him blankly.

"Why?"

Tate shuffled nervously at the foot of the bed, his eyes flickering to the side and Evelyn noticed how red and swollen they were. It was like someone had poured a handful of salt into each eye and forced him to blink, and Evelyn wondered if she looked like that too. Her heart raced as quickly as it stopped and she looked back down at the book, turning the page.

"Cause they can fly away when things get too crazy, I guess." Tate shrugged, and Evelyn eyed him with pursed lips before turning the page, "Are you gonna tell your parents? About," He referenced to Violet, "The pills?"

"It's not my place to tell them," Evelyn said as she looked up at him, "Just like it's not my place to tell my Dad what you really did. It's called 'patient-confidentially' in some cases but is otherwise known as 'I'm-minding-my-own-business'."

"How are you?" Tate asked, and looked blankly at him.

"I'm sad."

"Me too," Tate nodded. The two of them said nothing for a moment as Tate awkwardly shuffled his feet and Evelyn's attention turned back to the book in front of her. In her mind, there was nothing else to be said and nothing else she wanted to hear. She didn't know what she felt towards Tate, but at the current moment, she wanted him to leave.

"Evelyn…" Tate drawled slowly, and she looked up at him and noticed the tears that had gathered in his eyes, "Something has changed in you. Toward me. You're distant, cold." Evelyn noted that his voice broke on the last word, "I don't know what I've done, but I'll leave you alone from now on. If that's what you want. Is that what you want?"

Evelyn didn't respond but just kept looking at him, her lower lip starting wobble. She didn't know what she wanted. Couldn't he see that? So much had happened in such a small amount of time that her body barely knew how to react. She hadn't had a proper meal since she found out about the shooting, she rarely spoke to her mom or Violet because she was holed in her room as her mind tried to wrap around what had happened, and now she and her sister almost die?

Evelyn didn't want to think about a relationship, she wanted a friend. Addy was her first friend here and she's gone now. Violet's not mentally stable, and Lord help her if she tried to turn to either of her parents for help in this situation.

"You know why I'd leave you alone?" Tate continued when Evelyn didn't respond, "Because I care about your feelings more than mine. I love you."

Evelyn didn't bother to stop the tear from rolling down her cheek at his words. Tate loved her? Why would he do that? Why would he say that to her after everything that had happened? He still loved her after she had ignored his existence for the past few days and basically shunned him from her life? Did Tate even know what love really was?

"There, I said it. Not just on some whiteboard. I would never let anybody or anything hurt you. I've never felt that way about anyone." Tate finished, his eyes flaring with determination and openness.

Biting her lip, Evelyn weighed her options before scooching back. No words were spoken as she patted the bed next to her and Tate cautiously climbed in, careful of Violet's sleeping form, before curling up in front of her. Evelyn gently wrapped her arm around him and he snuggled closer to her.

"I'm tired," He whispered and Evelyn nodded.

"Me too."

~8~

Evelyn spent the next day with Tate, trying to figure out what she wanted from him and from herself. Laying on the couch, with her head resting in his lap, she idly flipped through the book in her hands before closing it and resting it on her stomach.

"Do you have siblings? Besides Addy, that is." Evelyn asked, and Tate looked down at her from the book he was reading.

"I had a brother who was older," Tate responded and Evelyn nodded, reaching up to grasp his hand and intertwine their fingers.

"I had a younger sibling," Evelyn lazily said, "But my mom had a miscarriage and now she might be having twins. Which is so great. I mean, what teen doesn't want to have two squalling babies interrupt their sleep cycle."

Tate barked a laugh, smiling down at Evelyn and causing her shudder when she saw the loving glow in his eyes. She was still getting used to this 'I love you' shit and it was going to take time, but she was slowly getting better at accepting the fact that Tate loved her.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Tate randomly asked and Evelyn nodded, looking up at him with furrowed brows.

"Yeah, why?" Evelyn asked, the question 'aren't you one' was on the tip of her tongue but she bit back the question.

"I don't know," Tate's shoulders dropped as he thought about the question, "It can't all be shit, right? There's gotta be someplace better, somewhere. For people like you, at least."

Evelyn's face flushed at the compliment before she tilted her head, "Not you. If you could fix what happened, would you go to the better place?"

"Ever since you got here, this is the better place," Tate remarked, turning his attention back to his book and Evelyn gave a soft squeeze.

~8~

Evelyn brushed the sliced carrots to the side of her plate, her face twisted in disgust. She knew this dinner was going to be awkward, she just didn't know that it was going to be this bad. Her parents had yet to say anything and you could basically feel Violet's sulking suffocate the room.

"You're not eating anything," Vivian commented to Violet as Evelyn stuffed a spoonful of peas into her mouth.

"I'm not hungry. Pretty stuffed on this bullshit." Evelyn barked out a laugh at Violet's comment before turning it into a cough when both her parents turned to glare at her.

"Your mother and I know that you're upset." Ben said and the two girls shared an eye roll, "Maybe there are some things you want to talk about."

"Like who Eve and I are gonna live with after you get a divorce? Or if you'll make us split up and one go with each parent?" Violet questioned and Evelyn watched Ben's eyes darken, "Is there a third option? Because both of you kind of make me want to kill myself."

Violet ignored Evelyn's sharp glare at those words and mentally promised to make it up to Evelyn later. She didn't want to kill herself, she just wanted her parents to see how their actions were affecting her and Evelyn. She knew that some part of Evelyn felt as though she had to hold the family together and that pissed her off. Her younger sister should be worrying about school work, not if her parents were gonna have a breakdown.

"Is that what you guys are afraid of?" Violet teased, but her tone was anything but playful, "Why else would you want to actually deal with the problem?"

"You never leave your room." Ben softly said, looking at the both of them so that Evelyn knew that she was included in this, "You barely eat. These are textbook signs of depression. We're very concerned, Vi and Eve."

Evelyn scoffed at her father's words while Violet left the table and leaned against the doorframe. He was trying to act like her dad, but where had he been these past few weeks?

"Look," Violet said as she turned to face her family, "You guys drag Eve and me all the way out here to save our family. Then you decide to break up. You buy a house that I actually like and that Eve can't complain about. Then you're telling us you're selling it, without even asking us what we want. So, fine, I'm depressed. But I'm not going to off myself. So you can go back to your policy of benign neglect."

Not daring to look her parents in the eyes, Evelyn quickly followed after Violet and up the stairs.

~8~

The incessant sound of something rolling across the floor was what finally caused the last nerve in Evelyn to snap. Slamming her laptop shut, she exited her room and tried to follow the sound of the rolling, stopping underneath the drop-down stairway to the attic. She stood still under the stairway, hoping to hear the sound again. A triumphant smile crossed her face when the same gentle scuffle of a ball came again and she quickly pulled on the latch before climbing up the staircase.

"Hello?" Evelyn called, turning on one of the swinging light bulbs that were hanging from the ceiling. As if in response to her question, a red ball rolled out from the corner of the room and Evelyn's heart dropped.

"I swear if this is some ghost shit," She whispered to herself before cracking up at the joke she made.

Evelyn crouched down and grasped the red ball in her hand, examining it when a sudden cry of 'play!' caused her to fall back and scurry backward as quickly as she could. She only stopped when she felt her back hit something hard and she looked up to see Tate's slightly angered figure standing above her. Scrambling to her feet, she latched herself onto him and buried her face into his shoulder, finding security and comfort in him as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against him.

"You're scaring her." Tate stated before raising his voice into a yell, "Go away."

"I'm so confused." Evelyn finally admitted to Tate, feeling very vulnerable and small all of a sudden, pressing herself even closer to him, "I feel like I don't know anything anymore."

"They're from the past," Tate soothed, pressing a kiss to the side of her head before pulling her away so that she was looking him in the eyes, "The ghosts of people who've died here. They're appearing to you now because you're evolving. Don't be scared," Tate whispered, pressing another kiss to her forehead and feeling a wave of possessiveness course through him, "All you have to do is tell them to go away, and they will."

"Maybe you should lead the open house tours," Evelyn joked, not noticing the flash of anger and darkness in Tate's eyes.

"Maybe I should," Tate smiled, and Evelyn noticed that it didn't quite reach the corners of his eyes. "Hey, you wanna check out this stuff I found."

"Sure," Evelyn hummed, allowing Tate to take her hand and pull her towards the back wall of the attic and pulling open a piece of the wall. One by one, Tate handed her each article that he had stuffed into the wall; sometimes, taking a moment to watch the awe and amazement light up her face.

Peering over Tate's shoulder, Evelyn reached a handout and dragged her finger down the black box that rested in his hands, admiring the detail and craftsmanship that went into it.

"What's in it?" She whispered into Tate's ear, ignoring the shiver that passed through his body.

"I don't know. Why don't you open it?" Tate handed it to her and she carefully flipped the latch and opened the lid, a gasp escaping her lips as she stared at an old-fashioned picture of a baby

before picking up the next picture, which happened to be of her current house in the past.

~8~

Sitting on Violet's bed, Evelyn ran her finger down the photo of a young family, wincing when it cut her finger. Evelyn placed her finger in her mouth and continued to stare at it until she heard a sudden inhale and looked up to see Violet staring at the wall behind her, horrified. Craning her neck, Evelyn felt her heart begin to race and her palms begin to sweat as she stared at the ghost of a young woman in front of her.

"Look at what he did to me." The spirit said, staring blankly ahead and Evelyn got off the bed and made her way to stand in front of Violet.

Taking a shaky breath, she let out the command, "Go away."

And just like that, she was gone. Evelyn turned to face her sister and pulled her into a hug, asking if she was okay.

"How did you do that?" Violet questioned her, gently pushing herself out of her sister's protective arms.

"Tate taught me." Evelyn explained, "He said that if you ever see one of them, just say 'go away' and they'll leave you alone."

Violet nodded and walked towards the end of her bed before sitting down and staring at her fingers.

"How long have you been able to see them?" She asked, her voice soft.

"Ever since the, um, the incident." Evelyn admitted as she collapsed onto the bed, "You?"

"Same."

Evelyn swallowed and looked at the ceiling above her, something wasn't making sense and she was sure as hell going to figure it out. You don't just randomly start to see ghosts, something has to happen… something big. Drumming her fingers against her stomach, Evelyn looked over at Violet.

"Are... uh... are you okay?" She asked, and Violet stared at her sister, her dark eyes crashing against her light brown ones. She heaved a sigh before falling back onto the bed and staring at the ceiling.

"I'm as okay as I can be with our shit-show parents."


	8. Rubber Man

Rolling the ball, Evelyn couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her face as the bright red ball rolled back to her. Brushing a strand of loose hair out of her face, Evelyn enthusiastically rolled the ball back and slowly crept forward. If Tate wasn't frightened of the person in the attic, then she didn't have to be frightened either.

"Hey," Evelyn cooed, "Is it alright if I meet you?"

Evelyn took the ball rolling back as a 'yes' and went to reach forward when her dad's voice rang throughout the dusty room, causing her to retract her arm and turn to look at him. Evelyn tried not to lower her eyes to the ground in shame because her father was looking at her as though she were one of his patients like there was something _very_ wrong with her. She didn't like feeling like there was something because she already knew that she had something wrong with her.

While Violet had gotten the joy of having depression, Evelyn had been graced with the gift of anxiety. When put together… Evelyn laughed at the thought. Ben was the first one to notice the symptoms when she was five years old. She would refuse to go to school and cling to him, sobbing about how she didn't want to leave him and that she didn't want him to die, she would have absolute meltdowns about her outfits for school or about homework. By the time she hit middle school, she had been placed on two different medications.

But she was better now. She hadn't had to take her medicine since her freshman year of high school and she was happier. She finally felt like herself for the first time in years. Sure, she still had moments of anxiety, but who didn't?

"I think we should have a session," Ben stated and Evelyn hastily shuffled out of the room and down the latter, rushing to her father's office and sitting in the leather chair. Grasping the blanket that rested on the back of the chair, Evelyn cocooned herself in it as Ben entered the room and sat in his chair.

"So, how long has this been going on?" He began, and Evelyn stared at him with a blank expression. Scared that if she showed any sign of emotion, her dad was going to make her take her medicine again.

"How long has what been going on?" Evelyn asked, nonchalantly, and pulled her hair over her left shoulder.

"How long have you been talking to your friends?" Ben clarified, his voice showing that this was not the time to messing around as it held an authoritative air.

"I thought a kid snuck into the attic," Evelyn lamely explained, "Like Addy used to, ya know."

Ben let out a long sigh before he leaned forward in his chair and stared sadly at his daughter, "Eve, I know life is a bit stressful right now, but if you-"

"Don't talk to me about 'life being stressful right now'," Evelyn snapped, sitting straighter in her chair and glowering at her father.

"Eve-"

"No," She interrupted him, "You and Mom have been a complete mess since the moment she caught you with Hayden. Your marriage is failing and you two just won't _give it up_. Why? Is it for the family? No, it's because you are a selfish person who doesn't want to let Mom go. It's like you don't want to give her up because she's your fucking trophy or something. But let me tell you something," Evelyn leaned forward like she was about to tell a dark secret, "That policeman has had his eyes set on mom for days, and I can't say that Mom isn't returning those feelings."

"Evelyn!" Ben slammed his hand against his desk and Evelyn could practically see the steam coming out of his ears, "I am your father."

"Then start acting like my father," Evelyn shouted back, "I already know you spoke to Violet. You're taking fucking rounds and trying to make us think that you care about us when all you really want is to know what's wrong with Mom!"

Shooting up, Evelyn threw the blanket onto the ground before storming out of the room, ignoring Ben's shouts for her to 'come back' and that 'he was her father'.

~8~

"Evelyn," A voice called from above, and Evelyn pushed away that hands that had grasped her shoulders and gave her a shake. Turning on her side with a small frown, she pulled her light pink and grey comforter over her head and curled into a ball, blissfully drifting off to sleep again when the cruel hands tore off her blanket, "Evelyn, get up. We're leaving. We're going to Aunt Jo's."

"What?" Evelyn asked, her voice low and husky from its disuse. She sat up and rubbed her eyes before squinting at her mom, who was hurriedly rushing around her room and shoving clothes into a medium sized bag in her arms. Looking towards her door, she raised her eyebrow at Violet, who rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation.

"We're not spending another night here. Now!" Vivian snapped and Evelyn jumped out of bed.

Throwing on a sweatshirt, she hastily threw clothing and some items that were precious to her into a spare bag, before slipping on a pair of shoes and following her sister and Mom out the door and down the stairs. Looking back at the house, confused at why her Mom was suddenly acting like they had to run away from a murder that they committed—and she paled at the thought because her Mom had been acting weird lately before brushing it off—she froze as her eyes met Tate's anxious ones.

"Don't go," He mouthed, and Evelyn looked back at Vivian before glancing at Tate, distress covering her face.

"I have to," She mouthed back before sliding into the backseat and clicking her seatbelt in. Anxiously, she watched as Tate's eyes filled with hurt—noting that the anxiety never left them—and he stalked back towards the house, his eyes never leaving hers.

"We don't have to be prisoners to this house anymore," Vivian muttered as she clicked her belt in, and Violet and Evelyn shared a look.

"Excuse me, ma'am," A familiar voice said from beside Evelyn, and Evelyn's smacked her head against the door as a scream escaped her lips as her mom's and Violet's head whipped around, "I'm hurt and I need some help."

Evelyn yanked open the car door and stumbled out, almost face planting in the asphalt, as her mother screamed and rushed out of the car, Violet not a second behind her.

"I know you, bitches." She heard the man say underneath the shouts of her Mom telling her and her sister to run faster. Slamming the door open, Evelyn raced upstairs and into her room. Jumping into the bed, she pulled her covers over her head and squeezed her eyes shut, telling herself that everything was going to be okay.

~8~

She could tell that Tate was upset with her. She didn't need a genius to figure that out.

"I would say that I'm sorry," Evelyn began, tightening her arms around his waist and looking up at him, "But I'm not."

"It's okay," Tate said with a shrug, but Evelyn knew that he was disappointed, "It's your body and your decision."

Evelyn didn't comment but chose to give his waist a tight squeeze and bury her head in his shoulder as they relaxed on her bed. Tate had come to her earlier that morning to comfort her after last night's events, hugging her and kissing her. She had wanted the comfort, she really did, but she didn't want it in the way Tate wanted to give it.

There was no questioning the idea of if she had feelings for him, they had made themselves very clear the past few days. However, giving up her virginity was something that Evelyn thought a lot about, and she didn't want to give it up to Tate just yet. There was something about him that made her feel like he wasn't telling her everything she needed to know. She felt like there was a part of him that he had yet to fully show her and she didn't want feel like losing her virginity was a mistake after she found that part of him out.

"The people in the car last night," Evelyn said, trying to change the subject and the atmosphere in the room, "They were the ones that tried to hurt my mom, Violet, and I, weren't they?"

"Yeah," Tate nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"But they're dead, aren't they?" Evelyn continued as she drew some patterns on Tate's shirt, ignoring the shudder that ran through his body. She didn't need Tate to answer that, "What am I supposed to tell my Mom? I mean, she called the police, my Dad rushed over, it was this big mess… and I can't even tell her what's going on. I could, but she'd think I was crazy."

"You can't." Tate jerked away and looked her dead in the eyes, "You can't. You can't. Evelyn, they'll take you away from m-here. We could never see each other again; I'd be a mess."

"Evelyn, Violet. Could you come downstairs?" She heard her Dad call and she turned away from Tate. His sudden possessiveness, his neediness was something she had not expected to come so quickly. She knew that the incident in the tub had scared him, but it was suddenly like he was scared that she was going to vanish the moment he took his eyes off her.

"Coming."

~8~

Evelyn walked behind Violet as the two made their way into the living room. Their parent's argument hadn't been the quietest one, but Evelyn gagged as she heard their mom bring up their 'kinky night'.

"What's going on?" Violet asked, stopping at the entrance of the room and leaning against the door. Evelyn copied her sister's movements, but still stood behind her. She didn't know if she were going to be able to lie to her Dad.

Evelyn loved her mom more than she loved her Dad and it had been that way for the past nine months. Her mom needed her… she needed Violet and her to help stand up against their Dad, but Evelyn didn't want to be sent away. She didn't want to go back on the meds that made her feel sick and robotic. Her mom looked so self-conscious and insecure next to her Dad, a look Evelyn had never seen before; and, she didn't like it. Evelyn didn't like that her Mom had become a mouse, afraid of anything and unsure of everything.

"Um, honey, would you please just tell your Dad about last night?" Vivian asked, rubbing her arms and refusing to meet her eyes.

Violet hesitated, and Evelyn could see the gears working in her head. Her heart stopped. Violet would never hesitate to defend her mom unless someone had said something to her, had tried to make her change her mind. Evelyn's eyes fluttered back and forth as she tried to think of someone who would do this, and she could only think of one name… _Tate_.

But, why? Why would he tell Violet to lie? A sick feeling began to build up in her stomach as she thought of the thousands of reasons why Violet would listen to Tate. Were they seeing each other? Was it just a game that Tate was playing with Violet? Was the game with Evelyn?

"Go on, honey. It's okay." Ben encouraged, noticing his daughter's hesitation.

"I saw Mom really upset," Violet said.

"Just tell him what you saw," Vivian interjected, "What you told the police."

Violet hesitated and licked her lips, "I told them what I thought you wanted me to tell them. I didn't see anything."

"Violet," Her mom breathed out, hurt filling her voice and her eyes, and Violet looked at her.

"I'm sorry, Mom." Violet shrugged, "I don't know what you saw."

"Evelyn?" Vivian asked, her eyes searching her youngest's face for any sign that she saw something. Evelyn swallowed, feeling the bile pile up at the thought of having to lie. Her dad already thought that her mom was crazy, and she didn't want to help support that, but she… she _couldn't_ leave.

"I don't what happened." Evelyn lied, her lip slightly trembling when her mom looked at her like she didn't know who she was, "It was dark and I hit my head. I did hear something, though."

She couldn't do this to her mom. Not after everything that happened to her.

"What?" Her dad pressed, and she bit her lip.

"I heard someone say, 'help me'." She ran out of the room before anyone could ask her any questions. She ignored Violet's glare, she ignored her dad's stupefied stare, she ignored her mom's look of hope, and she ignored the sudden change in the atmosphere that showed that something… or someone… wasn't happy with what she said.


	9. Smoldering Children

Evelyn fiddled with the smooth edge of her razor as Stevie Nicks ' _Edge of Seventeen_ ' echoed throughout her room. The sound had been blocking out her sister's incessant knocking and words of apology because their mom got taken away. Fuck, she hated her family. Her dad for his cheating ass and her sister for her lying ass. Evelyn scoffed, she guessed her dad and her sister were more alike than she thought.

"Evelyn," Her dad's voice called from behind the door and she stopped, just as the cool steel brushed against her wrist.

"Sorry, I don't talk to assholes," Evelyn stated, and she got up to put the razor in her bottom drawer, not noticing the shift of energy in the room, before walking to stand in front of the door with her arms crossed.

"Eve, please." Her dad sighed, and Evelyn yanked the door open before walking towards her bed and sitting on it, refusing to make eye contact with her dad.

"The police just came by," Ben said, following her and sitting on the corner of the bed, far enough away that Evelyn felt comfortable.

"Okay," Evelyn drawled, looking idly at her dad, "When do they not?"

"I want to apologize," Ben cut her off, and she tilted her head at him, "I know I haven't been the best of father's lately and I know I haven't thought about how these situations have been affecting you and Vi."

Evelyn pursed her lips and nodded for him to continue, still not understanding where this all was coming from.

"This was an extremely tough year on you. Moving and starting a new school, and all the craziness that happened to us here." Ben paused and chuckled, "Remember last year when you told us that you were going to Yale just so that you and Violet could be rival schools?

"I only said that because it seemed to be the only thing that would make you and mom smile," Evelyn admitted, her mind flashing back to the family dinner they had and how happy their family had been.

"I know," Ben whispered, "I know. I also know that you are incredibly smart and could probably get into both schools if you really wanted to." Ben took a deep breath, "But, Eve, what are you doing? This isn't like you… it's like you and Violet have become the same person."

Evelyn's eyes burned and she felt a teardrop. For once this year, she felt like her dad actually cared about her and wasn't just being her shrink. That he was being her _dad_.

"I don't want to go back," Evelyn said, sniffling as her dad's face dropped as he saw the tears in her eyes, "They hurt Vi, they make fun of us because of the house we live in, they're going to bully us because our mom went to the looney-bin."

"Okay," Ben said, his mind racing with different ideas and ways to make both his daughters happy, "You can always change schools."

"But, dad-" Evelyn cried but Ben quickly cut her off.

"Eve, you gotta go," She was his more sensible daughter, she had to understand, "If you miss one more day, you'll both be going to juvenile court. Please, just one day."

Taking a shaky breath, Evelyn nodded, "Okay, I promise."

~8~

Pulling her cardigan over her right arm, Evelyn made her way down the stairs and winced as her bag nailed her in the back on the leg. Today was the day. Her dad had gotten her and her sister into a new school where nobody knew them, and she was ready to get the day over with. In all honesty, Evelyn didn't have that much of a problem at her old school. It was more of the fact that her sister was constantly targeted by assholes and since the fact that their mom was now in the looney-bin, she had become part of it.

Violet had yet to come down the stairs, and Evelyn last saw her brushing her hair in the bathroom, but that didn't stop the younger twin from reaching for the door. Her hand just brushed against the doorknob when a hand snaked itself around her waist, the over covering her mouth as she let out a shrill scream as she was dragged backward.

Kicking her legs out, Evelyn let out muffled screams as the voice hushed her and pressed her against the wall. Dark brown eyes met hers and she felt the fight leave her body as Tate shushed her and brushed back a strand of her long, dark hair.

Cupping her cheek—and she couldn't help but lean into his touch—he kept his eyes on hers, "Listen to me. Just listen to me. Don't be mad."

Evelyn looked at him with wide eyes, waiting for him to continue.

"Stay with me," Tate whispered and Evelyn drew her head out of his hand, "We can play Scrabble in the basement if you want. I'll even let you win."

A soft smile crossed Tate's face and he gently removed his hands from Evelyn's face but kept the other still firmly grasping her waist. Evelyn hesitated before answering. She really did not want to go to this new school, but they had the threat of going to juvenile court if they didn't go; plus, she had promised her dad and he was now trying so hard to keep this family together. She couldn't let all his hard work go to waste.

"I can't," Evelyn whispered, frowning as darkness filled Tate's eyes at her answer, "My dad's trying so hard… and I can't let him down like this."

"So, go tomorrow. It's your first day, it's not like they're really going to care if you're there or not. Come on, Eve, stay with me." Tate persisted before leaning in and softly placing a kiss on Evelyn's lips, smirking when she responded.

"Can we go to the attic instead?" Evelyn asked, pulling away and resting her forehead against Tate's, "You know how much I hate the basement."

Tate smirked, "Of course."

~8~

"Double red," Evelyn murmured to herself before picking up her blue figure and moving it two reds, making it four spots ahead of Tate's red one. Placing the card in the discard pile, Evelyn pulled one of her knees to her chest, hugging it and resting her head on it while she waited for Tate to come back from the bathroom.

The two were playing a very competitive game of _Candy Land_. A game in which Tate had been against until Evelyn pulled her puppy-eye trick that seemed to work for every guy she had come across so far. The game had begun pretty unenthusiastically, with Tate lazily moving his character and picking cards. It wasn't until he had figured out the Evelyn had cheated by counting cards that he demanded a rematch, playful anger on his face as he flipped the board and smiling at the joyful laughs that left Evelyn's lips.

"Hey," Evelyn turned her head to see Tate's tense for in front of her, "Double red. It's your turn." She frowned when he didn't respond, "Are you okay?"

"He wants to separate us." Tate bit out, "He's gonna send you and Vi away."

Evelyn tilted her head at that and her frown deepened. He called her sister Vi. Nobody was ever allowed to call her that unless they were good friends with her, and when would've Tate and Violet become friends?

"What are you talking about?" Evelyn asked.

"I just heard him talking on the phone with a boarding school," Tate said as he walked towards her, "Asking about financial aid packages."

Evelyn didn't know how to react to that. Part of her was hurt that her dad wanted to send her and her sister away, but another part knew that they weren't going to stay in this house forever. There was going to be a time where she left for college and would… well, she would have to leave Tate. This wasn't a thought that had crossed Evelyn's mind often, but it was like a constant itch in the back of her mind.

Evelyn felt her eyes begin to water. Yes, she did want to explore the world, but she didn't think it would be by her dad sending her away. She thought he wanted to keep this family together, and by sending them away, he was tearing them apart again.

"Why?" She whispered, not expecting and not wanting an answer. At the current moment, she didn't want to leave. Evelyn finally felt that things between her and Tate were becoming okay again and were working out. Her mom was getting better, her sister was also, and her dad was becoming her dad again, "Do I do something wrong?"

"No, no, no," Tate quelled her unspoken fears and sat next to her, a tear falling down his cheek, "I won't let him take you away from me."

Evelyn nodded with a sniffle, the fear of her dad not wanting her in the picture when the twins came along resurfacing after weeks of being pushed away. The moment her mom had told her that she was having twins, she couldn't help but think this was their way of starting over. Having another set of twins they didn't screw up and tossing Violet and her to the side. The tear that slid down her cheek felt oddly cold.

Lunging forward, she wrapped her arms around Tate's waist and didn't complain when he lifted her into his lap, taking comfort in his figure cocooning hers. Tate pressed a kiss to the crown of her brow and squeezed her tighter. Anger was coursing through his veins and getting stronger with every tear he felt hit his neck.

He was going to stop Ben Harmon and he knew just how to do it.

~8~

When Tate came up to the attic, Evelyn's nails were practically non-existent. She watched as he walked towards her, out of breath and favoring his left side over his right. Immediately, she knew that something had happened.

"What did you do to him?" She asked as Tate hobbled towards her and gave her a shrug.

"I just convinced him to leave us alone for an hour or so," Tate said and Evelyn felt her blood begin to boil at the fact that Tate was lying to her.

"Tate, what did you do to him!" She snapped, glaring at the boy in front of her.

"I didn't do anything bad," Tate yelled back, "I just scared him a little. He'll be fine. But we're running out of time.

"What are you talking about? We're running out of time for what?" Evelyn questioned, taking a step back from Tate, uncomfortable with his current uncharacteristic behavior.

"I figured out how to keep them from sending you away." Tate leaned forward and confessed, and Evelyn took another hesitant step back.

"You want to run away?"

"Kind of. Yeah," Tate nodded and, upon seeing the hesitation clearly written across Evelyn's face, grasped her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye, "I love you, Evelyn, and I want you to be happy and free. If we take these," Evelyn looked at the packages of pills in his hand, "We can stay here. We can play with Beauregard. We can play games, watch videos. We can be together forever."

"I'm not going to kill myself, Tate." Evelyn stated, her eyes flashing with concern for the boy in front of her, "I don't want to die."

"But we'll be together… forever," Tate pressed and Evelyn shook her head.

"We can do long distance, I can come back and visit when I can, we can figure out a way. But I'm not killing myself." Evelyn said before her eyes widened as Tate pulled out another packet of pills, this time a different type.

"Where did you get all of those?" She breathed out.

"Your dad," Tate brushed before continuing, "But these won't be enough to do the job-"

"What did you do to him," Evelyn's eyes were wide with fear. She knew that her dad kept the pills in a locked drawer and that he would never give the key up. Especially not for a deranged teenage boy.

"Nothing!" Tate screamed, before storming around Evelyn in a circle, making her feel caged in place. She felt a tear fall as she tried to process everything that was going on and she hated herself for being weak. For always crying when things got out of hand. God, she was pathetic. "I just knocked him out so I could buy us some time. Listen to me, Evelyn. We can't get all chickenshit about this. We're running out of options!"

"No," Evelyn whispered and Tate looked at her with a dangerous look in his eye.

"What did you just say?" His voice was low and warning. Evelyn's mind went blank for a moment before she pushed her brain to think, to try and remember what to do if one of his patients ever got a hand on her.

"Not here," Evelyn corrected, looking up at Tate with what she hoped was understanding in her eyes, "We we need to do it somewhere nicer. Make it a statement to our parents."

Tate's eyes lit up and he pulled her into a kiss, "Yes. We can be like Romeo and Juliet, and show those fuckers a good tragedy."

"Exactly, but let's do it in my room… curled up on the bed."

Evelyn nearly cried with relief as Tate nodded his head and she smiled warmly at him. Reaching a hand out, she cupped his cheek and ran her thumb over it.

"Let me get the bed ready," She murmured to him, her eyes staring lovingly into his but her heart racing with fear.

"No-" Tate began, but she quickly kissed him, effectively cutting him off and silencing him.

"Please," She murmured against his lips and she smiled when he nodded before pulling away.

Giving him a gentle smile, she rushed down the stairs before a scream left her throat.

"Dad!" She cried, knocking into a table and ignoring the sharp pain that radiated throughout her hip, "Dad! Help! Help me! He's trying to kill me!"

A sharp 'Evelyn, no!' met her ears and she turned to look behind her, a scream escaping her lips when she saw that he was only a few feet away.

"Violet!" She screeched, her throat aching, "Violet! Please, help me!"

She knew her sister was home. She hadn't heard the door open and she saw the light on under Violet's door. But her sister didn't do anything. She kept her door closed and locked as Evelyn twisted and pulled at the handle before looking behind her, and running down the stairs when she saw Tate.

Bursting out the front door, she ran to the gate and shook them as she saw a couple walk past them, their dog barking incessantly at her.

"Help me!" She shrieked, her voice breaking as the couple continued to walk past her as though they heard nothing, "Help me! Please!"

Yanking the gate open, she sprinted out only to find herself in the kitchen of her house with Tate skidding to a stop right in front of her. Her heart felt like it was going to give up on her at any moment and her head hurt. Pressing a hand against her head, she tried to stop the pain that seemed to bounce around her head.

Looking at Tate with wide, confused eyes, she asked, "What did you do to me?"

Tate slowly walked towards her, as if she were a frightened animal, and she took small steps backward.

"You have to stop." Tate demanded, "Let's just do what we said we would."

Evelyn's breath caught in her throat at Tate's words and, not a second later, she was tearing out of the kitchen.

"Dad! Help me! Violet! Please, I need you!"

"Evelyn." She heard Tate shout from behind her, "Stop running!"

It became an incessant pattern. She would run out the front door only to find herself entering the house from the side door. Evelyn lost count of how many times she ran through those doors to find herself back in the bloody house. It got to the point where she was staggering through the house, her vision blurred with tears, sobbing.

Feeling a presence from behind her, Evelyn turned around to see Tate's disappointed figure leaning against the staircase.

"Please, Tate," She sobbed, not caring how pathetic or ugly she looked as she begged, "I don't want to die. I can't leave Violet."

Tate took a deep breath, "It's too late for that."

Evelyn felt her world stop and collapse on her all at the same time. What was he talking about? She was alive and healthy. She knew that she had hit her head in the tub, she had felt the ache the next day, but other than that, nothing had happened to her. He was lying. Tate was lying. He was just trying to find a way for her to stay.

The walls were starting to close in on her and Evelyn frantically looked around, hoping to find a way out of this internal nightmare. Everything felt so tight, why couldn't she breathe? Dropping to her knees, Evelyn slid back on her butt and pulled her knees to chest. Everything felt too close and she couldn't breathe and her head hurt and her heart was hurting and there was so much noise and she couldn't find Violet, where was Violet?

"Evelyn, listen to me." Tate hushed as he kneeled in front of her, ignoring the hurt that pulsed through him when she leaned away from him, "Just take a deep breath."

"Why can't I leave? What did you do to me?" Evelyn asked as she slowly rocked back and forth on the heels of her feet, finding comfort in the repeating sway and pattern.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Tate said calmly and slowly, "I have to show you something. And then you're free to go wherever you want."

Evelyn looked at him as soon as the word 'free' left his lips. She wanted to be free. Free of this house, free of her parents, free of the world.

"I promise I won't stop you."

"Do you pinky promise," Evelyn asked as she held out her pinky, sounding childish to her own ears but needing to be reassured.

"I pinky promise," The calm look on Tate's face didn't change as he wrapped his finger around hers and gave it a soft squeeze.

~8~

The basement no longer felt cold to Evelyn as she made her way down the steps, her hand clutching Tate's. For the moment, she trusted him. She trusted him to show her what was going on, but she didn't know if she could trust him after this.

Tate led her to one of the back rooms before letting go of her hand and walking toward a single cabinet door in the middle of the room. Slowly, he unlatched it and pulled it open, not making any sound throughout the whole thing. Evelyn cautiously watched as he dragged a chair from the corner of the room and put it under the square opening before using it to climb in and switch on a flashlight.

She gradually walked towards him, ignoring his outstretched hand, and followed him in. He led the way as they crawled through the tunnel and Evelyn couldn't stop the scream that left her throat as her hand squashed a group of maggots. Tate quickly turned and looked at her with concerned but she just shook her head, signaling that she was fine.

"Okay," Tate said as he hopped off the ledge and stood before her, holding out his hand, "Close your eyes and remember, everything's going to be okay. I love you."

Carefully, she took his hand and followed him down another pathway. She accidentally bumped into him as he abruptly stopped, but neither of them made a comment.

"Okay," Tate said, "Open your eyes."

She couldn't find what he was looking at, at first, but she followed the direction of the light and a soft sob left her lips as she stared at the bodies of her and her sister. Violet's body was shriveled up with flies coming out of her mouth, nose, and ears. But her own body… Evelyn almost threw up. Her own body was surrounded in a pool of blood. Maggots, flies, spiders, centipedes were crawling everywhere as her eyes were rolled to the back of her head.

"What?" Evelyn sobbed, covering her mouth with her free hand, "How?"

That's when it hit her. When she had slipped in the tub and hit her head, she hadn't just gotten a bruise, she had _died_. She remembered the amount of water that she had thrown up and how her lungs felt like they had been on fire. She had _drowned herself_.

"I tried to save you," Tate sniffled and looked at her shocked expression, "But you had been submerged for too long. Why did you try and save her, Evelyn?" Tate wailed, "You would've lived if you had just let her die!"

~8~

Evelyn sat next to Tate at the foot of her bed, her fingers playing numbly with the hem of her dress. The two hadn't spoken much after the discovery of her body. Tate had told her that she died loved and that she had Violet, but she didn't care. She didn't really feel anything to begin with. It was almost like… she felt dead.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, her soft brown eyes looking into his harsh ones.

"Hi. I'm Tate." Tate said, staring at the cards in his hand, "I'm dead. Wanna hook up?"

Evelyn couldn't stop the small smile off her lips and Tate smiled back, happy that he had somehow managed to make her smile again.

"I don't think so," he muttered.

"Do you remember dying?" Evelyn asked and the smile dropped off her face, knowing that her fall caused her to blackout.

"Nope." Tate shuffled the cards.

"So, what now?"

"You draw a card and then discard," Tate sassed and Evelyn smiled again.

"No, I mean what do I do now?"

"Nothing. We just continue to do what we've always been doing." Tate responded and locked eyes with her, "It's you and me. Together for always."

Evelyn swallowed at those words and gave Tate a warm smile, her hand slightly shaking as she picked up the deck of cards in front of her.

 _What if I don't want to be together for always._

* * *

 **Hi!**

 **First order of business. I won't be updating as frequently as i have been this week. I have two big projects due and a midterm friday.**

 **Secondly, thank you for all your support! I love reading your guys's comments and reviews, it makes me extremely happy!**

 **Winchestergirl123: Thank you and I'm so glad my updates make you happy, haha!**

 **Guest (anonymouscsifan): Yeah :/, we'll figure out what Tate's doing in the upcoming chapters and I'm glad you like it!**

 **Reviews are highly appreciated and loved!**

 **Also, what seasoning are you most looking forward to reading? I'm super excited to write 3 and 8, and definitely a little curious to see how 7 goes.**

 **See ya,**

 **ANA**


	10. Birth

There was a time before her mom was deemed 'crazy' where the two of them had sat in the living room and just talked. It was probably Evelyn's favorite memory of Vivian. The two of them sat there for hours, talking about what they wished to see in the future or what they wished they had changed, what they hoped to do before they died, and what the babies' names were going to be.

Evelyn barked out a laugh, causing Vivian to give her a look of confusion and concern. Running her fingers through her brown hair, Evelyn tucked it behind her ear before looking at her mom with a bright smile.

"So," She giggled, "If you end up having twin girls, are you going to name them Dawn and Sunshine?"

The look her mother gave her caused Evelyn to burst out in laughter again with Vivian soon following her. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Vivian shook her head and took her youngest's hand with a smile.

"Please, there is no way that we will be naming them that. Especially after seeing you and your sister's personality." Vivian teased and Evelyn couldn't get the smile to leave her face.

This was one of the rare moments where Evelyn actually felt connected to her mother, like they were more alike than they led others to believe. All her life, people her believe that she was more like her father just because she looked like him but the more time she spent with her mom, the more she felt like her personality matched hers.

"Have you thought of any names?" Evelyn asked and laughed when Vivian's face dropped.

"Well," Vivian drawled, shifting so that both her hands covered her round stomach, "I like the names, Jeffery and Eleanor."

"I like the name Michael," Evelyn spit out before she could stop herself. Turning to look at her mom and gage her reaction, she continued, "I've always wanted to name my kid that."

Vivian looked at her oddly, "Then why don't you."

"I just think it's a better name for my brother," Evelyn shrugged.

"Michael," Vivian tested out the name as she slowly rubbed her stomach, "I guess we'll have to see."

That was the last sane conversation Evelyn had with her mom before she was sent to the psychiatric ward. Currently, however, her dad was trying to drag Violet out of the house with Evelyn following behind them, the two of them trying to get their dad to let them stay home.

She hadn't known at first that Violet already knew the rules of the house and that's why she and Tate had been talking so frequently. When she went to confront Violet about the being dead shit, Violet was quick to tell her that she had already known… and had known for a while. She also explained that that was the reason why she had lied about what happened with their mom because she knew that they would've been found out if they had left the house.

"No more, Violet." Their dad thundered, sick of Violet's excuses of why she couldn't leave, "Your mom's coming home, and you're coming with me to get her." Ben's eyes flashed towards Evelyn's figure, "You too, Evelyn."

"Dad, please, I don't feel well," Violet whined as she tried to resist Ben's grip on her arm, grasping Evelyn's hand—who was secretly acting like an anchor and the two down.

"Dad, I don't think it's smart to take a sick person into a psychiatric ward," Evelyn said, leaning back as she tried to use her body to stop them, "It will just create a huge mess of sick people and then they'll have to go on a lockdown cause everyone's sick-"

"Evelyn, enough," Ben roared as he managed to pull the two of them out the door, "Violet, you can lay down in the car. Evelyn, you can make sure Violet doesn't throw up. And when we get home, pack up your things. We're leaving this house for good."

"What?" Both Violet and Evelyn blanched.

"You guys are back together?" Violet asked, stumbling over a twig and causing Evelyn to fall to the ground at the sudden weight loss.

"I don't know yet," Ben grumbled as he checked over his shoulder to make sure that Evelyn was okay, "Your mom wants to go to Aunt Jo's to give birth and I'm supporting it."

"No, you don't want to do this," Violet pleaded in a low voice, causing Ben to stop and look at the two of them, exasperation written clearly on his face.

"Guys, your mother's been locked in a psych ward for weeks," Ben exclaimed. He didn't understand why his daughters were being so difficult, especially at the thought of leaving the house. He thought that for sure they would want to go see their mom, seeing as she had always been the twos favorite parent, "I won't let her stay there for another minute. Are you going to get in the car or am I going to have to make you?"

Both girls stood there, not moving.

"My God, guys. What is wrong with you?" Ben grabbed their arms before shoving them into the car, "Get in the car. Your mother wants to see you."

"I'm gonna throw up," Violet shouted as Evelyn scooched to the other side of the car, sitting behind the passenger's seat. When Ben didn't respond, Violet pouted, "Fine. I'll lay down."

Shifting her body, Violet made sure to rest her head in Evelyn's lap and grab her sister's hand, squeezing it tightly. The two of them weren't scared to leave, they were scared to see how their parents would react to their sudden disappearance. Would they leave the house? Would they leave them?

Squeezing her eyes shut and lowering her head, Evelyn counted to three before opening her eyes and watching her dad's car drive away, Violet standing beside her.

"What's going to happen when they get back?" Violet asked Tate, who was sitting on Evelyn's bed and typing on her laptop. Evelyn made her way over to the bed before sitting next to Tate and peering over his shoulder, wanting to see what exactly he was doing, "What do I say?"

"We could always say that we were working on a new magic trick," Evelyn said and shrugged when Violet glared at her.

A laugh escaped Evelyn's lips as she stared at the computer screen and Tate looked at her in confusion, Violet ignoring the two of them as she tried to formulate a way to explain what happened to her parents.

"It's Y-O-U," Evelyn fixed, "Not 'U'."

"Oh," Tate said, smiling at the fact that he had gotten her to laugh, and quickly retyped the website name.

"If they find out I killed myself, they'll go insane," Violet muttered as she collapsed on the bed, next to Evelyn.

"Dude, if they find out that we're both dead, they'll go insane." Evelyn corrected and shuddered as she imagined her parents' reaction, "And no psychiatric hospital would be able to help them this time."

"Well you can't control forever," Tate muttered, turning his head to look at Evelyn and she met his gaze, "I mean, it is what it is, guys."

"One day these computers will be obsolete. People will have microchips implanted in their brains or something. We won't be able to watch _YouTube_ or anything." Violet rambled before her face dropped and her eyes glazed over, "We'll be like all the others here. Prisoners in a windowless cell. Who's gonna show me the new news of the world?"

"We're stuck." Evelyn agreed, her eyes staring far off in the distance "We're stuck in a place where nobody's ever happy."

"Yeah, but they're not like us. They're lonely." Tate slid his hand into Evelyn's, "We have each other."

"We'll never have kids," Evelyn whispered to herself, lost in her own world and not knowing that Tate heard her, an unknown fire burning in his eyes.

~8~

The sound of baby music is what caught her attention and, before she knew it, she was out of bed and heading towards the nursery, Violet and Tate behind her. Evelyn scoffed at the sight that was before her and rolled her eyes.

"Yams?"

"Who asked you to decorate the nursery?" Evelyn and Violet asked at the same time as they both crossed their arms.

"Your mother didn't have any potatoes," Chad snipped at Evelyn before turning his glare to Violet, "Let me break it down for you, sweetheart. This is our house, and we're having twins."

"Who's your surrogate?" Evelyn asked, "One of those nurses in the basement or did one of Patrick's 'friends' have a sister or wife?"

"You little bitch," Patrick seethed but Evelyn and Chad both ignored him.

"No, no." Chad shrugged as he made his way towards Evelyn and Violet, "A very, very human surrogate, Elvira. Your lovely mother."

"You think you're gonna steal those twins?" Tate cockily asked, lightly nudging Evelyn so that she was behind him. "You pathetic homos couldn't steal the shit out of your own ass."

Patrick and Chad started to chuckle before Violet cut them off, a dead look in her eyes, "You know what? It doesn't matter. As soon as my parents get back, we're leaving here. They're leaving. So knock yourselves out."

"Honey," Chad sighed dramatically, "Your parents aren't going anywhere as long as the two of you are stuck here."

"Don't get snooty," Patrick sneered, "As soon as they get here, you'll be begging to babysit. As big as this place is, it does get very, very lonely."

"It could get ugly, though." Chad turned back to look at them, and Evelyn rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt to scare her, "Were you a C-section?"

"We're twins," Evelyn snapped, "Of course we were. Do you think our mom is that crazy?"

"Then I guess there's a zipper we can use," Chad smirked cruelly and Evelyn had to grab Violet's wrist to stop her from lunging forward.

"Watch it, you Goddamn queen," Tate snapped, and both Evelyn and Chad were surprised at his protectiveness. Evelyn knew that he was a bit…possessive of her, but she didn't think that he'd defend her mom. She guessed Chad thought the same.

"Oh, I am _quaking_ in my loafers," Chad's voice dripped with sarcasm, "What are you gonna do? Murder me?"

~8~

"Evelyn!" Evelyn shot up from her bed at the sound of dad's voice and the approaching footsteps. She had been lying there for over two hours while Tate and Violet conjured up a way for them to stay in the house. Evelyn offered to help, but Tate had pointed out the fact that if all three of them got involved, Chad and Patrick were going to suspect something. A shrill shriek left Evelyn's lips as her dad slammed the door open and marched towards her, "Your sister is spewing _nonsense_. Get your bags. We're leaving now."

Evelyn scrambled up from her bed and grabbed her dad's arm right before he could grab the bag that rested at the end of her bed.

"Good," Evelyn said, "You need to get out of here. You need to take mom and go as far away from this place as possible."

Ben ripped his wrist from his daughter's grasp and stared at her like she had grown a third head, "What is with you girls? First Violet says she's dead and can't leave, and now you're refusing to leave too."

"That's because she is dead… we're both dead." Evelyn said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she finally admitted that she was dead.

"Evelyn, that's enough!" Ben roared. Grabbing her arm, he yanked her out into the hallway before grabbing Violet and pulling the two down the stairs, "I am done with your games. We are leaving this house."

"I took some pills," Violet confessed, her filling with tears as she finally told her dad that she had killed herself. "Evelyn tried to save me but slipped in the shower and hit her head. I didn't mean to kill myself."

Ben jerked to stop and stared at his two daughters, confusion, sadness, and anger swirling around in his eyes as he searched Violet's, looking for any sign that she might be on drugs. Evelyn's face remained blank as he searched her eyes for an answer to the news they were finally sharing; but, what emotions could she convey?

"Ben!" Evelyn's head snapped to look towards the front door before their dad dragged them down the stairs. Evelyn's eyes widened with horror as she stared at the clear liquid that stained the floor beneath Vivian. _It's too early_ , Evelyn's thought as she stared at her withering mom, _the babies aren't gonna make it. She's three months early,_ "The babies are coming."

Evelyn couldn't seem to move. She stared at the people rushing around her almost as though she were in a trance. Ben rushed Vivian to the living room while Constance closed the door, Violet following the three adults. But still, Evelyn couldn't seem to move. Her body felt abnormally heavy… like she was made of lead, and her mind felt like she was floating on clouds.

This was all too familiar.

She didn't how long she stayed there, staring at the room and waiting to wake up from this nightmare. When Violet rushed towards her and grabbed her arms, she didn't hear the words that were coming out of her mouth. Uselessly, she let Violet pull her to the basement and watched as she pulled out a wristwatch and a ring from her pocket.

"It's all part of Tate's plan," Violet explained to Evelyn as she chucked in the ring into the burning furnace, "They're remnants of Chad and Patrick. If we burn them, then they'll have to leave and Mom and Dad won't have to worry about them trying to steal the baby."

Evelyn nodded and watched as Violet threw in the wristwatch, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as though someone was watching them.

"What exactly do you think you're doing, young lady?" Violet head whipped around to see Chad standing there with a pile of red painted sticks in his hands, "Is that my twelve thousand watch that you're putting into the furnace?"

"Croatoan," Violet shouted, not bothering to answer Chad, and Evelyn looked at her in confusion. She had no idea why Violet was screaming the only valuable clue about the lost colony of Roanoke to Chad.

"Um, Vi?" Evelyn asked. Violet, however, ignored her sister before shouting the word twice more. Evelyn watched in horror as Chad dropped the sticks he was carrying as his body convulsed, almost like he was having a seizure. Stopping suddenly, Chad smiled and laughed, bending down and picking up a stick.

"So where'd you get that one?" Chad asked, walking towards Violet and holding the stick out threateningly. Evelyn subconsciously stepped in front of her sister, ready to take any harm that could befall her, "That press-on nail psychic who was here earlier? I mean, really? The Roanoke spell? Please, tell me you'll be slitting the throat of a chicken next because I've always found that very dramatic. I also quite enjoy the burning of the sage to rid the house of spirits."

"It didn't work," Violet's said, her voice and eyes echoing with defeat.

"Of course it didn't work." Chad rolled his eyes at the naivety of the two girls in front of him, "It's bullshit. It's all bullshit. People make up these spells and chants in order to feel like they're in control. Well, guess what. They're not. Never have been."

The two girls jumped as a ringing crack echoed throughout the room and Evelyn looked down to see the shattered stick. Tilting her head, she realized that she recognized that design. It was from the crib… the crib that Patrick had painted red.

"What are you doing?" Evelyn asked. She had thought that everything between the two of them was fine. They had seemed to be getting along much better the last time she had seen them together.

"My own bullshit ritual," Chad said through gritted teeth. Evelyn and Violet watched as he bent down to pick up another piece of the crib, "There's not gonna be any nursery. We're not gonna be parents."

He slammed the piece against his knee, breaking it and tossing it into the fire, "Your mother's babies are safe. From us, at least."

Evelyn tilted her head as she stared at, what she realized was, a broken man. A man who just wanted back the love he gave. Granted, she did hate him for planning to steal her siblings, but she couldn't help but pity him. It must hurt to realize that someone will never love you as much as you love them.

"I'm doomed to spend eternity with a man who doesn't love me. Of course, it could be worse." And Evelyn was shocked to see his gaze was directly on her, his eyes burning with the fire, "Your man loves you, but he'll always be a monster."

"What do you mean?" Evelyn questioned, her eyes narrowing. "He's changed. He told me he's changed and I've seen the change."

 _But have you?_ A voice challenged in the back of her head but she ignored it.

Chad raised his eyebrow and smirked at her words, "When did he change? When he murdered me?"

Evelyn felt her heart begin to race at the slow, daunting tone in Chad's voice. The way his eyes seemed to gleam with a twisted happiness, and an aura of calmness around him only heightened her suspicion. Evelyn bumped Violet back gently as she took a step back, wanting to keep her sister away from this man and to give her the best protection if he lashed out. Behind her, she could feel Violet's anxiety and confusion when Violet placed a slightly trembling hand on her shoulder.

"When he murdered my boyfriend?"

A groan from Vivian could be heard and it only increased the anxiety that was building up from the situation.

"Or did he change…" Chad took a step forward and tilted his head, twisted happiness emitting through his eyes, "When he raped your mother?"

Evelyn struggled breath as she felt all the air leave her body. She felt Violet let out a sharp gasp, but Evelyn felt numb. She could feel the anger rolling off Violet, but Evelyn… Evelyn couldn't feel anything. It was almost like she had expected this, in some odd, sick way.

"What?" Violet breathed, "No, that's a lie."

"Is it?" Chad challenged, and Evelyn shook her head. Not wanting to believe him, but knowing deep down that it was true. It was true and it made sense. Why he was so protective of the babies, why he didn't want them to leave. It wasn't for her, it was for his child. A child he conceived with her mom… a child her created by _raping_ her mom.

Evelyn felt like she was going to throw up. Her heart was pounding, her head was pounding, she didn't want to believe, she wanted to refuse to believe… she wanted to die. She wanted to die and never come back. She didn't want to see Tate's face again. He had lied to her. He hurt her mother in an unspeakable way, had been the reason why Violet was encouraged to kill herself; and she wanted to kill him. She wanted him to feel how she felt, she wanted him to _want_ death. To _crave_ it.

Her mom's shrill scream echoed through the basement and Chad smiled, "I think you're about to find out."

~8~

"Mom," Violet called, Evelyn standing next to her as the two stood next to their dad, the two gripping one another's hand as though they were each other's life support. Evelyn's heart hurt, and she felt like she was dying all over again. Except for this time, it hurt. It hurt so much more than the first. The coolness of a tear was something Evelyn normally found comforting in times of sadness or anger, but this time it didn't. It didn't feel like anything.

"Violet, Evelyn," Her mom smiled at them and Violet let out a choked sob as she watched the light in her mother's eyes slowly fade. She didn't her to die. She didn't want her mommy to be stuck here forever. Stuck in this house of hell where she would have to see her rapist—the person who caused her death—everyday.

"I'm sorry I didn't go see you at the hospital," Violet sniffed, a tear falling. "I wanted to but I couldn't. We couldn't."

"You're here now." Vivian breathed and more tears streaked down Evelyn's face at the sound of her mother's voice. It was so weak… so helpless and vulnerable. "That's all that matters."

"Vivian, listen to me." Ben pleaded as he grasped his wife's hand, "Concentrate on my words. We can be happy, honey. Before my mistakes. Before this house."

"It's okay, mom." Evelyn said, taking a shaky breath in as her mom looked at her, helplessly, "If you're in pain, it's okay to let go."

"I don't think I have a choice," Vivian admitted and Evelyn's lower lip trembled.

"Don't give up, Vivian." Her dad cried, and Evelyn's heart broke a little more at how broken he sounded. He couldn't survive without their mom, everyone knew that. He just never wanted to admit his weakness, "Stay with me."

"Come to this side," Violet shakily coaxed, not wanting to tell her mom to stay, but knowing she had nowhere else to go and wanting to make it easier for her, "Let go. You can be with me and Eve. You can be with us."

"Don't die." Ben pleaded. "Don't die on me, Vivian. We can still have a life together. We can still be happy."

A wail left Evelyn's lips as she watched her mom's head lazily drooped to the side, and Evelyn knew that she was gone. Pushing away from Violet's hug, Evelyn raced up the staircase. She had something to take care of and she didn't care who she hurt until it was taken care of.

She found him lying on her bed, clutching her blanket. She felt no pity for him, no _love._ She didn't care how badly she was going to hurt, how much he was going to cry, or how many pieces his heart may shatter into. He hurt her family more than once, and she was done. She knew that he could sense her presence and when he got up and smiled at her, she stared him blankly.

"Tragedy knows no boundaries," Evelyn recited, her face and voice void from any emotion, "Neither does pain or suffering. And they've _never_ cared about who their victims are or what they've been through."

Tate looked at her confused, but she continued, "My mom is dead."

She watched as Tate's face dropped and he scooched forward. She found it hard not to lurch away, but she managed to stay her ground. Everything about him now utterly repulsed, and she didn't know what she ever found so attractive about him.

"I'm so sorry. I know you're close." Tate whispered and he reached out a hand to put on top of Evelyn's. But this time, she couldn't stop herself from jerking away. The thought of this… _monster_ thinking it was okay to touch her after what he did to her mom. He stared at her in confusion as she took a few steps back.

"Yeah," Evelyn crossed her arms, "I had always been a 'daddy's girl' but ever since the affair, I seemed to have switch roles. But, my dad's down there all alone now. He doesn't have me, he doesn't have Violet, and now he doesn't have his wife."

When Tate got off the bed and stood in front of her, she stood her ground. She knew that he was going to try and use his height to intimidate her, but it wasn't going to work. She was too angry, too emotionally drained to care about him.

"That makes me sad. I like your dad." Tate slowly said, watching her like a wild animal, not knowing when she was going to attack, "He was nice to me."

"He's nice to all his patients. Even the ones who lie to him." Evelyn said, staring dully at Tate.

"What?" Tate questioned.

"Why made you start to see him in the first place? Constance thought you needed help?" Evelyn asked, matter-of-factly.

"I did. I do." Tate said, stumbling over his words.

"You knew you were dead." Evelyn hissed, not caring that Tate's eyes were starting to get red with tears and finding that the sight of him crying was bringing her joy.

"Yeah," Tate admitted.

"You know who those kids are."

"No." Tate rapidly shook his head with wide eyes, "No."

"Don't lie to me," Evelyn warned, her own eyes burning with tears. She was sick and tired of all these lies… of this made-up life he made her believe he had. "You know why you died?"

"The cops shot me," Tate shifted on his feet and Evelyn watched as his eyes drifted left. He was lying, "Right here in this room."

"I asked why. Not how. Why did you die? What made cops shoot you, Tate?" Evelyn challenged. She felt powerful. She had the situation in her hands and she was in control of it. Evelyn wasn't going to let him drop or change the subject, not this time.

Tate shook his head confusedly and, for a moment, he reminded Evelyn of a kid who got caught taking a cookie from the cookie jar, "I don't know."

"Yes, you do." Evelyn said with a sad smile before unleashing everything on him, "You murdered people, Tate. People who were our age, who were just like us. You knew who those kids were...the ones that chased you on Halloween. You knew what you did to them."

"Why would I do that?" Tate shakily asked as tears began to stream down his face and Evelyn shrugged boredly. "Why would I do that? Why would I do that?"

And just like that, Evelyn watched as Tate Langdon became undone right in front of her. The mental walls he put up to block what did and what he had done, collapsed, and before her stood a mess of a boy. A boy who could hardly call themselves a man.

"No," Tate sobbed, yelling not at Evelyn, but at himself, "Why would I do that?"

"I can't answer that. It's on you." Evelyn stated, the look in her eyes was unmerciful. In a way, she was enjoying watching Tate lose it. It made her feel like she was getting justice for everyone he had hurt, "Why'd you kill Chad and Patrick? Why would you _rape_ my mother?"

A broken sob left Tate's lips at those words and he bent his head down as if he were collecting himself before looking up at her, a more controlled look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Evelyn shook her head at his words, a tear falling. As much as she abhorred Tate, there was a part of her that once loved him. And you can't take away those feelings as easily as you gain them. That's why it hurt so much: she had loved a man who raped her mother and killed sister, and she didn't leave him, "I'm sorry. I was different then."

"You think an 'I'm sorry' and an 'I was different then' is going to change my mind and make everything okay again? This isn't a fairytale." Evelyn scoffed, "You know, the moment I stepped foot in this house, there was this suffocating feeling darkness. I just passed it off and thought that it was because it was an old house where were murdered. But, Tate, you are the darkness. You are the evil that lives here and thrives on the misery and destruction of others."

Tate took a step back and shook his head, sniffling, "No. Before you, that's all there was. But when you came, you were like this beacon of light that pulled me away from it—the darkness. You've changed me, Evelyn."

"I believe you and I've seen your change," Evelyn said, watching as Tate's face lit up at her words, "But I'll never forgive you."

Tate's face dropped at her words and she watched as a fresh wave of tears fell down his cheeks and his lower lip trembled.

"I can't be with someone who drove my sister to kill herself and who raped and killed my mom." Evelyn shook her head and a tear streaked her flushed cheeks.

"No!" Tate cried.

"You did!" Evelyn shouted back, sick of Tate's constant denial of his actions. He needed to understand, he needed to know what he did was wrong and unforgivable. At the sound of her raised voice, Tate began to sob quietly, realizing that he truly lost Evelyn.

"I can't be with someone who caused my family pain and sorrow, and who left my dad to fend for himself," Evelyn stated and Tate looked at her in horror. "I won't be you. Not now and not ever."

"What are you saying?" Tate asked, following Evelyn forward with every step she took backward.

"Go away."

"What?" The panic and sadness in Tate's voice seemed to quell Evelyn's boiling blood. She knew it was sick and twisted that she was feeling satisfaction from this, but he had to learn… he had to leave her family alone. But it hurt. The fact that Tate seemed so childlike in this moment, like he didn't understand the consequences of his actions, made Evelyn pity him. "No, don't do this."

"Go away, Tate." Evelyn warned.

"You're all I want!" Tate wailed, his face scrunched up as tears streamed down his cheeks and hit the floor, "You're all I have!"

"Go away!" Evelyn screamed, squeezing her eyes shut as Tate continued to scream back at her. She didn't bother to open her eyes again until the room was silent and a peaceful eeriness seemed to surround her.

Evelyn let out a sob, all the emotions she had kept away finally hitting her. She didn't want Tate to go, but she couldn't be with someone like him. Someone who was so willing to hurt those she loved. What did that say about what she meant to him? He always said that he loved her, but when it came down to it, did he?

Shaking where she stood, Evelyn didn't bother moving when she felt reach grasp hers from behind her. She knew it wasn't Tate and if the person tried to kill her, what did it matter. She was already dead. The person, however, pulled Evelyn to their chest and Evelyn let out another sob as the familiar smell of her mom's perfume surrounded her. Evelyn leaned into her mom's arms. She didn't care if she was acting like a two-year-old or a kid. She just needed her mom.

"That was very brave." Her mom gently praised, keeping Evelyn tight in her arms, "I'm proud of you."

"Mom," Evelyn whimpered, ignoring her mother's gently hushing, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you had to die. I'm sorry you had to leave dad and that you lost your babies."

Pulling Evelyn away from her, Vivian brushed the hair from her face and gave her a soft smile. She couldn't help but pity her youngest daughter and everything she went through. Vivian knew that Evelyn wasn't going to be the same after this night, but she would willingly go to hell and back to make her daughter smile again. The sound of footsteps in the doorway caught Evelyn's attention and Evelyn watched as Violet made her way towards the two of them, wrapping her arms around Evelyn's shoulders and hugging her tightly

"But I didn't lose my babies." Vivian soothed, pulling her daughters close to her chest as they continued to cry and wondering why she couldn't have saved them first.

* * *

 **I literally cried so many times when writing this chapter.**

 **Please review. This chapter was emotionally and mentally draining to write, and a little review would make my day.**

 **Thanks,**

 **Ana**


	11. Afterbirth

The sound of Michael crying was the only thing that seemed to catch her attention lately. Well, that and when her mom or Violet called her name. But it was only when Michael cried did it seem that she was drawn out of whatever state of depression she was in.

So, when she heard him cry from the nursery, she was there in an instant, standing in front of the crib and staring down at the infant. A part of her hated the child. He was, after all, a physical representation of what Tate had done to her mother, but he was her brother. And she would always love him and put his needs before hers.

"Hey," Evelyn cooed as she reached down and stroked Michael's cheek, his sobs turning into soft sniffles as he stared at her. Her brows furrowed. It was almost like he could see her and that he knew she was there. Blinking, she shook her head at how ridiculous she sounded. Baby's could only see you if you were really up close and there was no way that he could see her.

The sound of the door opening caused Evelyn to look at it and she briefly panicked as her dad entered the room and made his way over to the crib. Not a second later, she was gone.

And Michael was still staring at the spot where she once stood.

~8~

Her mother had made it very clear to the two of them that she didn't want her father seeing them. She had made them promise, _swear_ , that they wouldn't interact with him or with Michael. Her father was something that Evelyn could promise, but Michael was not. So, it surprised her when Vivian asked her to present herself to her father when she heard her name.

Violet was called first, as always.

Whenever her parents spoke about the two of them, it was always in age order. Something that the two would laugh about because of how more mature Evelyn was compared to Violet.

Evelyn boredly picked at her nails as her father kneeled in front of Violet, placing a hand on her knee and asking what kind of father he'd been before listing all the reasons why he was a bad one. Oddly enough, Evelyn didn't think her dad was a bad father. She knew that he made mistakes—bad ones—but he wanted to change it, he wanted to keep the family together.

Plus, she had seen how hard he had been trying to be good and push his desire away.

"But what about Evelyn?" She finally heard her name mentioned and she stood behind her father, watching as tears brimmed Violet's eyes.

"You've been a good dad," Evelyn said, a soft smile on her face when Ben gasped and turned around. His eyes were red, she noticed, and he looked like any broken man would: hair unruly, eyes red, thin structure, sunken eyes, "You've had your ups and downs, but you tried."

"But I never listened. All the time, you would beg me to listen… to be the grown up in the situation, and I just pushed you aside and made you the grown up. You had to stop our fights, take care of Violet, take care of your mom—"

"Something that I was more than happy to do," Evelyn admitted with a shrug, "Sure, I didn't always want to do it, but they're my family and I need to do whatever I can to help you. And give yourself a break. You've been taking great care of Michael. I haven't seen a single scratch or bump."

Ben gave her a watery smile as he looked between his two daughters, his twins, "I've missed you so much."

"I was never getting into Harvard," Violet joked, breaking the tense in the room, and Ben rolled his eyes with a chuckle, "But I saved you a shitload of money," She looked at Evelyn, "We both did."

"Yeah, you guys did." Ben smiled.

Evelyn didn't want to ruin her dad's mood. He was so happy for the first time in a long time. But, looking up at Vivian, Evelyn knew that she had to break the news to her dad, she had to get him and Michael out of there. Sharing a look with Violet, Evelyn motioned with her head for her sister to start.

"You have to leave, Dad." Violet began, the smile dropping off her face as she tried to convey the direness of the situation to Ben, "Every minute you're in this house, you're in danger, and so is that baby. "

"I know it's hard, Dad. And I know that you don't want to leave now that you know we're here, but please, for Michael." Evelyn added as she stepped forward and held her hands behind her back. She didn't want Michael to get involved with this situation. Sure, she was her half-brother and Tate's son, but that didn't mean that he had to be stuck in this house of horrors as she did.

Evelyn watched as her mom grabbed her dad's hand and brought it to her chest, Vivian's eyes shining with love and affection.

"Please," Vivian whispered, "Do it for us."

~8~

She waited in the darkness until Constance appeared, watching as she tried to creep towards the crib and peer down. Evelyn didn't need the light to see the utter panic and fear when she saw that the crib was empty, nor did she need to hear the sharp gasp.

"Hello, Constance."

Evelyn tried not to laugh when Constance jumped, whipping around to face her as she placed a hand over her chest.

"Child, I swear to God if you weren't dead already—"

"You'd kill me. Yeah, yeah, I get it." Evelyn brushed her off and she watched as Constance's eyes flickered down to the bundle that was pressed against her chest, her eyes darkening.

"What do you think you're doing?" Constance hissed and Evelyn rolled her eyes before staring down at the blue ones that were looking up at her. Michael was such a quiet baby.

"Visiting my brother," Evelyn said, rolling her eyes, "You may be his only 'living' family, but I'm still here, Constance. We all are."

"Get your grimy—"

"I came to make a deal with you," Evelyn said, cutting Constance off again and nearly laughing as her face grew red with anger and frustration, "It's simple, really."

Constance scoffed and lit a cigarette, "And what might it be?"

"His name's Michael." Evelyn stated, her eyes growing dark as Constance rolled her own, "And his name will _always_ be Michael."

"Listen, sweet cheeks," Constance said, blowing smoke in Evelyn's face, "It's not up to you."

"True," Evelyn agreed, "But I wonder what would happen if the police got a call asking them to dig up the gazebo? I wonder how Moira would feel to be able to see her mother again?"

Evelyn watched with sheer satisfaction as Constance's posture grew tense and her eyes burn with anger. If it came down to it, Evelyn had no problem with playing the victim and calling the police. What would it get her? She was already dead. She didn't need Constance to respond to get her answer, the puff of smoke she exhaled from her lungs was enough.

Placing her brother back in the crib, Evelyn gave him a soft, motherly smile.

"See you around, Michael."

And not a second later, she was gone.

~8~

Evelyn didn't care much for the new owners of the house. They weren't rich or famous, so Evelyn didn't bother to make herself known to them. Violet, on the other hand, found the couple's son, Gabe, attractive and it became common for her to go and visit him. Not that Evelyn minded. In fact, she was quite glad that Violet had found someone to go out with, cuddle, and all that fun stuff because, for the first time in a long time, Violet was truly happy.

The one time Evelyn did meet Gabe, she knew she fucked up.

Evelyn didn't want to say that things were getting too serious between Violet and the teen, but she knew that it was serious enough for Violet to practically beg Evelyn to meet him. And, because she didn't want to ruin her sister's happiness, she did.

He was a nice boy and Evelyn automatically got along with him, but he wasn't her type.

Nobody was her type nowadays.

But, as she hugged Gabe 'goodbye', she felt her blood run cold as her hazel eyes locked with dark brown ones. Ones that she hadn't seen since the night her mother died and her brother was born. She refused to leave her room for a week after that. It wasn't that she was scared to see him, it was more that she was scared of what he'd do if he saw her.

It was Violet's pleading that brought Evelyn out of her room. Fearing the worst, she had run across the hall and came face to face with Tate's back, and stood next to Violet. She didn't need to see what was happening to know what was going on.

"Tate, what are you doing?"

And just like that, the tension in Tate's shoulders lessened and his head dropped.

"Put down the knife," Evelyn continued, anger burning in her eyes as she saw Violet's tears. The one chance Violet had to be happy and Tate was trying to ruin it.

"I can't," Tate murmured, "I'm doing this for you."

"No, you're not." Evelyn stated and she almost rolled her eyes when she heard Tate choke out a sob, "You're doing this because you think it will make things better. Tate, I don't want him to die."

"But it will make Violet happy," Violet's mouth dropped at Tate's confession and she rapidly shook her head. Gabe's death was the last thing she wanted. She wanted him to live a full, happy life. A life she could never have, "And if Violet's happy, you'll be happy."

"Killing him will make Violet sad," Evelyn contradicted, "And if Violet's sad, I'm sad."

"I just want you to be happy," Tate sobbed, "You're all alone in this house."

"But I'm not alone. My family's here and my friends are here." Evelyn said, taking a step forward and causing Tate to turn and look at her, shocked that she was even approaching him. Putting her hand behind her back, Evelyn motioned for Violet to get Gabe out of there. Swallowing the lump in her throat at the lie of the words she was about to say, she whispered, "You're here."

As soon as Tate fully turned to face her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss, her eyes fluttering closed as she listened to Violet and Gabe run out of the room. Pulling away as soon as their footsteps were far enough, she brushed her thumb against Tate's tearstained cheek.

"Goodbye, Tate."

She didn't hesitate to leave, not caring about the sobs that echoed around the empty room.

~8~

Evelyn couldn't stop the joyous smile on her face as she handed Violet another ornament to hang up, laughing when Violet almost dropped it.

"Careful," Evelyn teased, nudging her sister, "Don't wanna wake the baby."

Violet let out a scoff and rolled her eyes, checking on Jeffery, but the smile on her face didn't leave. Evelyn hadn't felt this much at peace in a long time. Her family was finally a family again and she _adored_ her little brother. Evelyn tilted her head as she thought, when she held Michael, something felt almost powerful about him, but when she held Jeffery, he felt… normal.

"I found these in the attic," Moira's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she shook her head slightly, turning her attention to the older woman and the box in her hands.

"Wow," Violet said as she took an ornament out and examined it, "These ornaments are ancient."

Evelyn nodded in agreement as she twirled the large, white one in her hand.

"I suppose they are," Moira agreed with a nod, she hesitated before continuing, "You'll come to understand, Violet, Evelyn, that the word 'ancient' will lose all its meaning when your existence is one long day."

Ben's voice cut through from the other side of the tree, "Okay. Everybody ready?"

Evelyn's eyes shined as the tree lit up in front of her, the white lights illuminating her pale skin and dark eyes. The tree was absolutely beautiful and, for a moment, her breath was taken away. The older ornaments seemed to create an ancient beauty to the tree that she had never seen before.

"Look at that." Ben said in awe as he circled the tree, "I chopped it down myself, I'm proud to say. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?"

"I have," Vivian's voice teased and Evelyn turned to see her mother approaching, Jeffery wrapped in an old-fashioned outfit, "Look at him. He's so amazing. Best temperament ever. Hardly ever cries. Looks like his daddy. Wanna hold him?"

Placing the box of ornaments down, Evelyn made her way over to her parents and smiled at Jeffery, who currently rested in Ben's arms. Her mom wasn't wrong, Jeffery hardly every cried unless he was hungry or he needed to be changed. Glancing over her shoulder, the smile dropped off Evelyn's face as her eyes locked with dark brown ones.

He could wait, yes. He could wait for all eternity.

But she was never taking him back.

* * *

 **BOOK ONE IS DONE!**

 **Thank you to everyone who's supported this story and reviewed.**

 **Guest (anonymouscifan): Thank you so much!**

 **Winchestergirl123: Thank you so much!**

 **Book two will be out in a week or two? Idk, sometime near the end of November tho.**

 **See you in a few weeks,**

 **ANA**


	12. BOOK TWO

**Book Two: Meam Commemorationem** is up!


	13. Chapter Start Over

hey,

so this story is actual shit and i will be rewriting it in december/january before continuing with the second book.


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